Fatal Obsession
by thatirishfox
Summary: Newly appointed Detectives Hopps and Wilde are ready to take on their new assignments, but when a string of macabre murders occurs in Zootopia, they find themselves after a killer that has a strange obsession with Judy. Takes place after the events of my story A Few Glasses Down. Warning, there is some graphic descriptions of murder scenes.
1. Chapter 1

Precinct One was, for lack of a better term, a Zoo. Every officer was in their dress blues and were frantically trying to get their morning work done so that the ceremony wouldn't put them too far behind. Whenever an officer was being promoted to detective, it was always a special affair but today even more so. The entirety of precinct one, the commissioner, and even the Mayor had decided to make an appearance today as it wasn't every day that the ZPD's first Bunny and first Fox officers get promoted to Detective.

Judy, however, seemed to ignore the excitement and was staring hard into a case file, ever the hard worker that she was. Nick approached her from behind and set a cup of hot tea in front of her. She turned and smiled at him with her ears perked up and she could not help but notice how handsome he looked in his crisply pressed and immaculate dress blues.

"Ya know Carrots, technically we're not even supposed to be looking at our assignment until AFTER we get our detective shields." He said as he took a sip from his coffee.

"I know…I just can't help it. Three missing mammals and no similarities to the Nighthowler case…it's a hell of a first official assignment." She replied as she tapped one of her prosthetic feet against the floor, a habit that she had taken to whenever she focused on something, which was much to the annoyance of everyone since they tended to make a loud 'click' sound against the floor.

She closed the file and turned to hug her fox around his waist with her face against his chest. He reciprocated the gesture and wrapped his arms around her.

He simply chuckled and looked down at her. "That's my Carrots, always working…alright, what do we know?" He asked her, kissing between her ears.

"There's no real indication of him having a type, he just seems to attack at random." Judy idly tapped her prosthetic foot against the hard ground and began to speak, "So far, the three victims are a gazelle, a weasel, and an ocelot." She takes a pause before she turned around to face Nick directly. "Eyewitnesses say they only saw the gazelle wander into the alley and soon after heard a scream. They also state that when the eyewitness in question got to the crime scene the only thing he saw was a large black van pulling away, said he couldn't quite catch the plate number." She slumps grimly, irritated at the lack of a true lead.

"So basically what you're telling me here carrots is that we just got conned into taking one of the hardest cases the ZDP has had in years. Sounds like a swell time." He says nonchalantly, playing up his con-man attitude, a quick chuckle escaping his lips.

"Pretty much. Almost less than the Nighthowler Case." She groaned and closed the file again.

"Tell you what Carrots, we go through the ceremony, then go get settled in at our new desks and we'll go through the file together to see if you missed anything. Then after work, we have our date." Nick eyed Judy with a smile and wiggled his brows after his little pep-talk, grabbing her shoulders softly. "Come on Carrots, let's just enjoy the ceremony yeah?"

Judy smiled at her partner and took his hand in her own. "Yeah, let me just finish up my packing, alright Nick?" She lets out a small laugh and turns her head to stare at her belongings tiredly, she hadn't even packed one thing up. Good thing animals still think she's a hard worker, because she's never been good at packing.

Judy reminisced about the past few years while quickly shoving her personal belongings into the box. She thinks about the things they've both done for the ZPD in the past four years. In the middle of her thoughts about her job, she thought about Nick again, she really fell head over heels for the fox. They've been together for almost the entire span of time she's been an officer and it really did show. You'd think after losing her legs the Rabbit would slow down by at least a little bit, but if anything it only sped up her resolve. She was already the best ZPD officer Zootopia had to offer, now all she needed to do is become the best Detective!

Soon enough, they had her desk cleared and asked one of the ZPD couriers to move it for her so that they could make it on time to their ceremony.

The ceremony went off as expected, no problems anywhere, as expected from the best of the ZPD. As Nick and Judy sat on the platform that was set up in the press conference area, they greeted their Commissioner, Chief Bogo and the rest of the less-important Deputy Commissioners. The event was truly going to be remembered as a proud moment in Zootopian history, even Mayor Aurelina Canidae herself decided to make a special appearance and made the speech for the crowd of officers and press that assembled to witness the occasion.

"Dear citizens of Zootopia, make no mistake. Crime is a rampant disease in our once-fair city and now more than ever we choose to rely on the ZPD to serve and protect the common people, in light of this understatement I, Mayor Canidae present Sir Nicholas Wilde, and Madam Judith Hopps these two badges to forever signal them as honorary Detectives of the ZPD." She stated with a triumphant raise of her fists. "Commissioner, if you'll do the honors." She said and dipped her head softly to the Chief, a rather displeased looking Snow Leopard that approached the stand.

"Officers, if you'll turn over your badges." He said. His voice matched his looks and it was enough to make even Bogo shift uncomfortably in his seat.

Nick and Judy both pulled off the badges from loop above their breast pockets and turned them over to the waiting paw of the commissioner before resuming their attention stance.

"Nick Wilde and Judy Hopps. You are no longer officers of the ZPD, it is my honor as Commissioner of the ZPD to grant you both the rank of Detective Grade One." He pulled two oak boxes off the podium and held them out to them. "I hereby assign you both to remain in Precinct One under the authority of Chief Bogo and the commanding officer he deems you serve under. May you both serve this badge and this city with Trust, Honor, and Integrity." He finished, placing the boxes in their paws and giving them a salute which they returned and failed to contain their smiles.

The entire room erupted with thunderous applause and dozens of flashbulbs going off at once. Nick and Judy broke the salute and stepped back to their seats as the Mayor stepped back up to make a closing statement.

As she spoke, Nick leaned to Judy and spoke with a low voice. "Isn't she a little short for a wolf?" and he winced when he received an elbow to the sides from her. "Ow…"

She giggled and sat back down as she opened up the box containing her new shield and simply stared at it for the duration of the ceremony. Her focus was only broken by the sound of Bogo's voice booming in the atrium.

"Ten-Hut!" he yelled. "Present Arms!"

Nick and Judy rose with the rest of the Officers, their paws snapping to their foreheads in a salute as the Mayor and the Upper Staff of the ZPD filed out of the room.

"At Ease!" he shouted again. "Dismissed!" He finished and walked over to Nick and Judy. "Congratulations Detectives. I trust you already have your assignment?"

They both nodded and Judy spoke up. "Yes Sir, Sargent Catano already sent us the file for our first case. We're to report to her when we we're done here."

"Good, you can turn in your Officer Uniforms and receive your Detective braids and lapels for your dress uniforms at Requisitions. Dismissed."

"Yes sir!" They said in unison and stepped off the platform.

They were on their way to the stairs to the second floor when a Serval approached them. "Detectives! Detectives, a moment please?" he asked politely, "I'm Les Catsidy of the Zootopia Journal, could I get a moment?" he said as he waved his press badge.

They looked at each other and stopped. "Sure buddy, what can we do for you?" Nick said with his usual sly smirk.

"Th-thanks so much!" Les said eagerly, "I just had a few questions for the paper if that's alright." He looked to them to double check if he was still welcome and quickly flipped open his pad. "First question is for Judy: 'Your Injury should have ended your career but I see that you're back and no worse for wear. What was it that brought you back?'"

Judy mulled it over. It didn't seem to bother her that he asked it and she honestly expected the question to come up eventually. "Well, I suppose it was the Chief coming to visit me after it happened. He gave me the push I needed to get back here and I had all the support from my partner and the ZPD. They wouldn't let me forget that it was my dream to be a police officer."

"Ah that's wonderful! Thanks for being candid with your answer!" Les said, his pen flying eagerly across the page as he wrote down his notes. "Next one is for Nick: Have you had any opposition on the job being a fox?"

"Not as much as you'd think. Most of the ZPD is pretty progressive with their thinking now and while we still encounter an old fashioned mammal on the streets every now and then, they're pretty respectful." He said with a shrug.

"Good to hear that mammals aren't so old fashioned! Last but not least, this one is for both of you: Now that you're both detectives, have you already been assigned to a case? Namely the three missing mammals?"

Judy took point and answered this one. "Have we been assigned a case? Yes." She says nodding her head, "Are we allowed to discuss the said contents of the case? No, no we are not." She said and gave a cutesy smile.

"Fair enough Detective Hopps, fair enough. I wish you both luck and thank you for your time!" Les said eagerly and sauntered off, leaving Nick and Judy to glance at each other.

After a shared shrug, they headed up to the second floor where the detectives were based and to their new desks, each with a computer sized perfectly for them as well as all their belongings boxed up on top. On Judy's desk, there was a rather lovely bouquet which she eyed with a curious expression. She plucked the card from the stem it sat on and she read it aloud. "Congrats on your promotion. XOXO" she said and looked it over.

"Who's it from?" Nick asked as he looked over the flowers.

"Doesn't say on the tag." She says and rubbed her paw under her chin as she pondered who could've sent it. "Y'know it could've probably been Clawhauser? He forgets to write his name on stuff all the time." She snaps back to matters more important at the moment. "Sergeant Catano really wanted to meet us down at her office; we should probably there before we make her mad.

Nick nodded and took point behind her, paws stuffed in his pockets as they strolled to the Sergeant's office.

Soon enough, they found themselves standing in the office, looking at the endlessly cheeky expression of their new commanding officer. "Ah, my new detectives! So nice to finally meet you and congratulations on your promotion! Now, the reason I wanted to talk with you is that I wanted to acquaint you with my rules. When under my command, you are to report any breakthrough to me, I do not care if it isn't to my face. A text message, hell, a sticky note on my computer screen would be enough, I want to be in the know on your investigations. Second, and this is the most important…" her playful expression disappeared and she glared at them. "My squad is like my own set of children, I couldn't blame anyone but myself if something happened to you, so no heroics or rash and stupid decisions under my command. Do you understand me Hopps?"

"Yes Ma'am!" Judy replied quickly.

She smiled and her expression quickly returned to normal. "Good, now, since you're Detectives, you don't have to be in your dress blues or a beat uniform anymore. Plain clothes are allowed as long as it fits in business casual. And no Wilde…that does not mean you can go around and parade in those gaudy Pawaiian shirts you're so fond of." She chuckled at his shocked expression. "Oh come now, you're not the only one that knows everybody. A little birdy told me all about them. Now, I believe that's everything, go ahead and get changed if you'd like and get settled in. I believe Detective Bearnard dropped your assignment off to you this morning. Dismissed." They gave her a nod and made a quick right turn to head to the locker rooms that also occupied the second floor.

They quickly changed out of their Dress Blues, they returned to their desks in their plain clothes. Judy giggled at the sight of Nick in an oversized white button down shirt that he had to borrow from Officer Sheepherd.

"Yeah yeah, laugh it up Fluff." He rolled his eyes at her.

She snorted once more before she sat down and divided the file up evenly between them. "Okay, so I'll take the witness statements and victim files…and you can take the crime scene reports and initial investigations by officers on scene and we'll see if I missed anything."

Nick nodded and took his half of the paperwork and started to thumb through it. She turned to her stack, sighed before she opened it up, and gave the floor a tap with her prosthetic as she started to read.

They spent the better part of their afternoon with their noses in the file and every hour or so they traded stacks to re-read what the other read to see if they may have missed anything at all. After a while, Judy finally slammed her head against the desk. "This is hopeless, we have this file memorized by now and we aren't any closer to a lead."

Nick reached across the desk and gently pet between the ears. "You're not allowed to quit. You had less with the Nighthowler case and still solved it. I know we'll get this."

She gave him an appreciative smile but before she could say anything, her phone rang and buzzed against the tabletop. "Hopps." She answered and suddenly perked up in her seat. "What are you talking about? A Victim?" Judy quickly put the phone down after the conversation was over and leaped out of her chair, her prosthetic legs squeaking as she gestured for nick to follow. "Officer Wolford found what's left of a weasel, he thinks it's our victim." She says sprinting out of the room, Nick close behind her.

The crime scene was a veritable hornet's nest of activity. Around the alley and holding back an onslaught of press and curious onlookers was a string of officers, none of them enjoying the heat of Sahara Square at all. To the left of the Alley Entrance, McHorn was questioning a very ill looking Otter that was gesturing frantically at the alley. On the other side, a team of CSI Units were darting in and out of the alley, taking photos and samples while Wolford seemed to be gesturing them over.

Nick and Judy dodged the throngs of reporters that tried to pounce them and slipped under the police line. Wolford smiled at them, a dark tone in his face as he waved them over. "Detectives..." he says, almost as if he was sick with the Flu.

"Hopps, Wilde, Congrats on your promotion. Sorry it's here that I have to tell you. Anyway, about an hour ago, we get a call about Mr. Ottersworth running out of the alley screaming his head off and breaking down on the sidewalk. We managed to calm him down and unfortunately found out he stumbled upon our body here. It's…um…pretty bad…" he said as he rubbed the back of his head with a paw. "If you're ready, I'll show you where it's at."

They shook their heads and prepared for the worst, but through all of their preparation, they couldn't have even fathomed as to what they had just gotten themselves into. The sickly-rotten smell of blood filled the air, and once they got a peek inside of the dumpster it was all over for Judy and Nick's stomachs. Nick turned his head violently and began to spill the contents of his lunch onto the wall next to the dumpster and Judy nearly fainted from the sight of the body.

The body was even worse than the expected. The Weasel's torso was cut opened from his collarbone to his groin and his skin splayed open, exposing his ribcage and noticeably empty body cavity. His liver, heart, and intestines were pulled from his body while his lungs and other organs remained. His face was subjected to a beating at some point as his muzzle was broken in several places and a few teeth were missing. His arms looked as if they were chopped off with an axe, as there were several deep gashes in his neck and clavicle. The final and perhaps one of the more lurid details was that his eyelids were cut from his face, leaving him with a permanently shocked expression.

Nick quickly led Judy from the alley and found a place for her to sit while she worked through the initial shock. Nick turned to Wolford with a grim expression. "I've seen my share of bodies, but never anything like that…"

Wolford nodded and gently pat Nick's shoulder, "The next one is always worse, believe me." He said grimly. "We figured out he was yours because whoever did this taped his driver's license to his ribcage." he said and watched as a team of Coroners went in with a body bag and stretcher. He turned back to them and held out a piece of paper inside of an evidence bag that was creased with numerous folds. "We also found this in his mouth."

Judy reluctantly took it in her paws and her eyes went wide as she read the contents. Nick gave her a worried look and rested a paw on her shoulder. "What does it say Carrots?" he asked, his eyebrows raising when her expression shifts to shock. "Judy?"

She flipped the paper over, showing everyone that the text that was scrawled messily onto it was something downright paranormal: "Did you enjoy your flowers Ms. Hopps? I picked them just for you, from the bottom of the weasel's heart." Judy couldn't even react to this statement, she threw the evidence onto the ground and backed up, shaking her head. "That's...not possible." She squeaked out in a mix of revulsion and fear. "This isn't right, this can't actually be real, this killer can't be a normal animal." Judy's only comfort was a heavy hug from her partner, a soft whisper filling her ear to soothe her. "Carrots...Carrots calm down, we'll find the bastard, I promise." He said, his voice soft as he held his beloved close to him, eager to never let go.


	2. Chapter 2

Judy was nearly catatonic by the time they made it back to the ZPD. Sure, in their line of work they have seen some gruesome things, but never anything like they saw back in that dumpster. On top of the horrific nature of the murder, Judy also had to process the fact the murderer seemed to have an interest in her, one that was on the level of obsession.

After he gave the report to the Lieutenant, Nick returned to Judy, helped her into a chair and placed a mug of chamomile tea into her paws in to hopefully calm her nerves. He remained quiet, as he knew that she needed to be able to process this. He simply allowed his presence to be felt near her and he tried his best to keep himself calm even though he could feel the whirlwind of emotions running through his mind.

They sat like this for a while, Judy sipped on her tea and worked to get her breaths under control while Nick just sat next to her, his body pressed to hers so that she could find comfort in his being there. However, Judy finally looked up at him and spoke up. "Nick, what are we dealing with?" her voice was still soft and meek, but he could tell that she forced herself to focus on the case and not what she had just seen.

"I wish I knew Carrots, that's not exactly something that you see every day." He muttered.

She nodded and picked up her pad and started to write furiously all the details she could remember. "Okay, so we know he's obviously very meticulous. I mean, it was almost surgical in the way it was done." She said out loud as her ears folded back against her head so she could concentrate.

"Yeah, it looked like he had a clear plan in the way he dissected the poor weasel." He said and swallowed back the taste of bile from his mouth as he thought back to the crime scene.

She nodded, "And we know he's interested in me for one reason or another." she said glumly, setting her pad down on the desk. She gave an idle thump from one of her prosthetics against the linoleum tile of the floor. "I guess we'll have to wait on the details from the coroner until we can find out more about his methods and the way the victim died."

He wrapped his arms around her and gave her a loving hug. "Don't worry Carrots, we'll catch this psycho, it won't matter what he tries to do to us. We have each other, and that is all that matters right now. You and I are on this case, we have solved harder. We got this."

She buried her muzzle against his chest and took in his scent. The cologne he wore had such a sweet smell to it, almost exactly like those berries he loved those much, but underneath that mask of sweetness was that subtle earthy tone of his natural musk. His scent always calmed her down a bit and made her feel a bit safer in their embrace. It was like they were the only two in the world really, the sensation was bittersweet however, It wasn't really them as a pair she was worried about, it was mostly herself. The killer seemed to be doing this out of some sort of spiteful interest in her, and he wouldn't stop until the culprit was caught red-handed.

"Nick, it's not us I'm worried about; I'm more than sure we can stop this guy with some time but..." She droned on there, whimpering softly. "I'm scared about what he'll do to other animals to get closer to me. It's hard to decide what our next move is going to be really, knowing that at anytime he could strike again."

"Listen, Carrots." He says grabbing Judy softly, putting his paws on her cheeks. "It'll only drive you insane, this whole case." He says mushing her cheeks softly in a cute fashion, playing with his partner's face. "Come on now, who needs to go out to have date night yeah? I know a pretty good restaurant with some takeout we could order from, I think it'd be pretty nice to get some of that and cuddle tonight." He said and finished his sentence with a soft lick to her cheek."

They wrapped up their day pretty quickly and headed home to their shared apartment, having found one right in Savannah Central that was within walking distance of the precinct. They wasted no time in stripping out of their uniforms and getting into their favorite sleepwear. Judy in one of Nick's t-shirts that was way too big for her, and Nick in a t-shirt and pajama bottoms. Judy had removed her prosthetics and was massaging her stumps lightly while Nick wrapped his fluffy tail around her.

Needless to say, neither of them really had an appetite after what they saw and their boxes of takeout remained untouched as the pair tried to immerse themselves in some cheesy primetime television. No matter what it was they watched, neither of them could really relax, especially Judy. Her ears were folded back against her head, her brow was furrowed as if deep in thought, and even though her gaze was directed at the TV, her eyes were blank.

At the sight of this, Nick waved a paw in front of her. "Helloooooo, Earth to Carrots. Anyone home?"

Judy blinked quickly and looked at him. "Hm? What?"

"You're doing it again." He said with a frown.

"Doing what Nick?" her brow furrowed again.

"You're blaming yourself for what the killer is doing." He said. While his voice had the usual aloofness, his eyes betrayed his worry and concern for her.

"Can you blame me Nick? I mean, he left a note addressed to ME. Clearly he's doing this because of me for some reason. I can't think of anyone other than Bellwether who has a grudge against me and she's in a maximum security prison!" She shouted, her breaths starting to quicken and her heart pounded rapidly in her chest. "I'm scared Nick." She whimpered and buried her face in her paws to hide the sob that hiccupped out of her chest.

His ears flicked back and forth in distress, his eyes shifting back and forth, quickly trying to think of a way to cheer up his rabbit compatriot. "Clearly the Carrots I know isn't here today." he said softly and knocked on her bunny noggin as a half chuckle, half sigh escaping his lips. "The Judy I know and love wouldn't let herself get all bummed out over this psycho, y'know we'll bring him in and put a stop to whatever this half-bit psycho has to do with you. I have your back Judy, you're my girl. You'll always be my girl." He says pulling her in for a tight hug.

"Nick it's not that…" she started, but was cut off by him.

"The Judy I knew stared down a Savage Jaguar and saved my life, told a chief who wanted to put her out of the way to put it on hold for you because you knew you could solve the case." He smiled. "You took down two corrupt mayors and are a top officer of the ZDP, and you're the only woman in this world I could ever love this much." He finished with a sigh, his face a bit red from all the breath he had let out in the past few minutes.

Admittedly, Judy sometimes wanted to slap that grin off his face but she couldn't help but smile. "You're right but I just don't know what to do."

"Y'know that's a pretty simple answer there carrots, we're gonna waltz in there and annoy everybody until we solve the case, that's what we do every time." He said with a sly chuckle and flicked his tail against her nose softly.

She squeaked when his tail brushed her nose but let out a giggle at what he said. "Fine, you sly fox. But if we're going to go to work, we should at least get to bed."

"Don't have to tell me twice, I'm beat." He said and scooped her up in her arms. "Come on, let's call it a night."

He carefully carried her to the bedroom they shared and placed her on the bed. She scooted herself into her spot and dug under the blankets as Nick slid into his spot and wrapped his body around hers. As a finishing touch, Nick tucked his tail between her legs and in front of her which she wrapped her arms around and snuggled tightly. This was their favorite way to sleep. No matter what evils they've faced or what nightmares haunted them, when they were like this, sleep came easy and their dreams stayed peaceful. It wasn't long before their breathing evened out and they drifted into their shared slumber.

It was around 2 in the morning when the God awful ringtone that Nick kept on his God-forsaken cell phone went off, blitzing at full volume to go and wake them both up.

~ "AH, AH, AH STAYIN' ALIVE" ~

Nick groaned and reached over to his nightstand to fumble blindly for the source of the racket. He managed to press the answer icon thanks to muscle memory and pressed the phone to his ear.

"Mnnh... Detective Wilde here, what can I help you with?" He grumbled nonchalantly, a bit of sleep deprivation in his tone as he responded slowly. "Yeah? Well we'll be right on it, I'll see you soon, bye." he said before he tossed his phone out of his paw and onto the chair next to the bed. He groggily sat up, turned to his partner, and stared at her with heavy eyes having noticed that she was awake. "Well, I suppose we have another kitnapping on our hands Carrots." He sighed and scratched his sides before he jumped out of the bed. "Witness statements match our description, we're definitely out to see another tragedy, so prepare your stomach alright?

Since it was only around 3 in the morning by the time they made it to the crime scene, there was very little activity aside from the officers on scene. They were greeted by a night shift officer that neither have met before, a rather chipper deer. He shook both their paws and gave them a friendly smile.

"Detectives! Good to finally meet ya!" he said in a tone that was way too chipper for this time of day. "So here's what we got. A bunny was walking towards her car after a late shift at the diner over there and a black van stopped near her. Apparently a single assailant grabbed her and threw her into the back of the van before speeding off. Fortunately, the entire diner got a good look at him doing it, however he was wearing a mask and a body suit so we don't even know his species." He said, closing his notebook. "Worst part is he covered his plates so we couldn't get the number.

Judy's ears fell back at this and immediately shoved her pad back into her pocket with a huff before she headed towards the victim's car.

Nick sighed and shook the officer's hoof. "Thanks Officer Buck." He said to the deer who nodded and headed towards his patrol car.

By the time he made it to where Judy was standing, she was staring intently at the skid marks left by the van as they were photographed by a CSI tech.

"Whoever he is, he's good." She grumbled and turned her gaze towards the spilled contents of the bunny's purse. There were the usual items a female would carry: makeup, wallet, hygiene products, but what caught Judy's eyes the most was a blue flower that had been laid carefully on the purse. She punched Nick in the arm to get his attention before she put on a glove to pick it up. "Nick…please tell me I'm seeing things. Is this-"

"Yes…that's a Nighthowler." He said, his eyes wide and ears back.

"I thought they put these under the controlled substance list, only farmers are able to get them." Judy said and looked down at where the flower had been laid. Sitting on top of the purse and originally hidden by the flower was a small folded square of paper with 'Judy' written across it in a fanciful cursive script.

She put the flower into the evidence bag that Nick held out and carefully unfolded the note to read its contents. "Dear Judy, I hope it's you that reads this letter first. I wanted to give you this flower, it made me think of you and how beautiful you are. Just remember not to eat it, we all know what happens! Oh! Don't worry about the bunny, I'm not going to kill her yet, I have something special planned for her. Best wishes, your biggest fan!" she read aloud and looked up to Nick.

"Well, if I wasn't convinced before, this basically sets the statement in stone. This guy's a fucking basket-case." He said as he put a paw to his face to rub his eyes softly.

While her reaction was shocked, she wasn't paralyzed by it now. Instead, her brow furrowed in thought and she began to pace slowly with the springs on her prosthetics creaking lightly with each step. "Nighthowler…Nighthowler…you can't just walk into a florist and get the flower anymore…you have to be a farmer or some licensed in bug control." She muttered to herself. "We may have a lead Nick!" she said eagerly and dashed off to their unmarked cruiser.

Nick simply chuckled and followed behind her, having to take the driver's seat since she couldn't operate the gas and brake pedals anymore. She occupied herself with her notes and the way she was writing, Nick was half worried the page would catch on fire.

"My thought is, we call the two farms that are authorized to grow and distribute Nighthowler flowers and see if they've had any odd purchases recently and if not we'll call out to the farm supply shops in the surrounding boroughs to see if they've had any stock gone missing." She said eagerly and kicked her prosthetic's hooves against the floor of the cruiser before stealing a glance at her watch that read the time as being five in the morning.

"First things first. We have to drop this stuff off at the labs to have them check it for prints or DNA." He replied as he made the turn into the underground parking garage of Precinct One.

They filled out the forms and dropped the evidence into the slot for the labs before headed into the elevators towards their office. After a brief stop in the Lieutenants office to leave a check in report, they sat at their desks and began their phone calls, hoping this lead panned out.

"Thank you, you've been very helpful." Judy said and set the phone in the receiver before she laid her head on the desk. "Two farms, twenty distribution centers, and farm supply stores that are authorized to sell the flower within three hours of the city and not one of them is missing so much as a bulb." She grumbled.

Nick simply smiled and pet the top of her head. "Don't fret it carrots. We at least filtered them out of the equation and know he's not with any of the farms."

She sighed and nodded. "Yeah, but that doesn't get us any closer either. Ugh!"

Before Nick could respond again, Clawhauser's chipper voice chimed over the intercom. "Ooooh detectives! Dr. Growley would like to see you down in the examiner's labs!"

"Thank you Clawhauser." Nick replied and gently pat her on the shoulder. "Come on Carrots, we can mope after we find out what the labs found out."

She nodded and stood up to follow him towards the elevators to the basement where the labs were.

The examiner's labs had a strong sterile smell to them, as if the entire place was painted in formaldehyde. Sitting in a rolling stool was Dr. Growley, a stern looking African Wild Dog that barely acknowledged their presence when they walked in. After he finished whatever it was he was writing, he turned to them, his expression unchanged.

"Detectives, I have some news for you about your case." He said in a voice that matched his expression.

Judy smiled at him. "You do? Great!" she said eagerly and bounced on her prosthetics that made Growley lift an eyebrow.

"Let's start with your weasel over here." He said, pulling back the sheet to show them the body.

While seeing the body again made their stomachs churn, they were surprised that they weren't as stunned as the last time.

"Your perp most likely is or was a doctor or at the very least someone who has been in the medical field. The way the body was dissected open was surgical in its execution. The cuts down the middle and the way he harvested the organs is nothing short of perfection. Not even the smallest fragments of the removed organs remain in the body. It's excellent work." The doctor said, casting his gaze of his body. "These gashes in the shoulders are from a large blade, either an axe or a sword. This is definitely what killed your victim. However, he was alive when the eyelids were cut off and when the dissection started. Death was definitely a relief for the hell this poor weasel was put through."

Judy appeared sick to her stomach at hearing these lurid details and imagining what the poor mammal went through in his final hours. "God, that's awful." She squeaked and was thankful that she managed to keep her breakfast down.

Dr. Growley nodded, covering the body back with the sheet. "It's a shame, no mammal deserves that fate." He said solemnly. "Well, now we have the evidence that you brought today. While I couldn't pull any prints from the note or flower. I did find something interesting with the Midnicampum holicithias sample you brought in." he sat at his desk and pulled up an enlarged photo. "The stamen has been removed from the flower."

"Why's that interesting?" Nick asked.

"Well, the way Midnicampum holicithias' psychotropic effects start is the pollen from the stamen mixes with the fluids found inside of the flower when ingested or injected. The reason it's interesting is that the stamen has been removed by plucking so someone is harvesting the pollen for something." Growley said with a shrug.

Nick furrowed his brow and seemed to be deep in thought. "I think I heard Fin mention something about this. Something about underground drug rings using the Nighthowlers for some kind of high. I'll give him a call."

Judy nodded as Nick walked out and pulled out his cell phone. She returned her gaze to Growley. "Thank you for all your help doctor!" she said, shaking his paw and turned to the door.

"Detective Hopps." He called after her. "Be careful. I've seen this kind of case before, and I don't want to see you on my slab." He finished and turned back to his computer.

Judy gulped and nodded before she pushed the door open and headed back upstairs.

When Judy got back to her desk, Nick had just wrapped up his call with Finnick. He gave her a confident smile and set his phone on the desk.

"Fin said that there's a new ring that found that the pollen from the Nighthowler flowers gives a high similar to Catnip but with much stronger effects. He's going to poke around and see what he can find out for us." He said with a grin.

She nodded and returned his infectious smile. "Good, hopefully we'll turn something up." She said and began to type up a report of the day so far.

Before she could get very far, their intercom paged and Clawhauser's voice chimed over the speakers. "Ummm, detectives. There's a bunny here. She said that she knows your kitnapped bunny."

They looked at each other with wide eyes and Judy spoke up. "Umm, yeah, send her up!"

"Right away!" Clawhauser said in his chipper voice.

A few moments later, a bunny with dark grey fur sat across from Judy's desk. She wore a very brightly colored sleeveless dress with many intricate geometric patterns stitched into it and wrapped around her head was a band with a matching pattern sewn into it. Perhaps the most interesting thing about her was the fact that she had heterochromatic eyes. The left green and the right blue. She bore a polite smile and graciously took the paws of both Nick and Judy in hers as a greeting.

"Hello, thank you for seeing me Detectives. My name is Lulu Sikya'tavo and I was made aware of one of our daughters disappearing." She said in a soft and almost maternal voice.

Nick and Judy shared a look that made Lulu chuckle.

"Oh, forgive me. I'm the Shaman of the Hoppi tribe out in the meadowlands. Shophan was a member of our tribe. She was the one that was taken last night."


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

The room was dark and the damp air was so thick that it was difficult to breathe. Shophan blinked in an attempt to adjust to the lack of light but even the small strip of light under what could be assumed was a door wasn't enough to be able to make out anything. She let out a groan and rubbed at her temples as she tried to remember how she got here.

She had just gotten off work when a black van screeched to a halt in front of her, she tried to head around the blasted thing, annoyed with the driver's incompetence, but before she could even react the back of the black van opened up and she found herself in a quick scuffle! Before she could really get a good grasp on the situation, a rag had been stuffed in her face, and no matter how long she held her breath she eventually did have to breathe in the sweet smelling solute. With a small struggle, the rabbit's body slowly went limp as she lost consciousness.

The Bunny groggily groans and coughs up some spittle, standing up to her two feet and moving forward, a bit dazed in her movements, desperately trying to make her way to the door. "Hello? Is anyone there?" She called with a dry throat, still in shock at how quick the situation happened and the severity of it.

She groaned out as she managed to lock a firm grasp on the doorknob, turning her head once she heard a voice from the other side of the room. The rabbit took a defensive stance, whimpering slightly as she called out. "Who's there!?" She wasn't willing to die, not today.

"Is somebody there?" The strange voice asked the bunny was still unable to make out certain syllables and pronunciation; she shook her head in irritation. She swear she heard an accent, but she could not make out what it was now, her brain was almost completely fried. Whatever the psycho that kidnapped them wanted, they certainly made sure to prepare the strong stuff for such a small rabbit.

"Who are you?" Shophan whimpered.

"My name is Sarina; I was taken just like you." The feminine voice spoke out with a slight tinge of a Spanish accent.

"Taken?" She whimpered. "Why?"

"I don't know. He seems to need us for something. There used to be two others, but I haven't seen them in a while."

Before Shophan could respond, the lights snapped on which effectively blinded the both of them. Shophan shielded her eyes and heard the loud metallic click of the locks being undone on the door and the squeak that was the protest of the hinges, they sounded horrific, straight out of a horror movie come to life.

She managed to see the blurry outline of a mammal that wore a black body suit, it hid what species whatever the psycho was well, and a black expressionless mask made sure that whoever it was, their identity was safe with them and them alone.

"Good evening ladies." It said in a very metallic voice that made it impossible to even tell what gender it was. "Welcome to paradise." He finished with a laugh that made Shophan's blood run cold and a frightened sob escape from Sarina's lips.

Their captor regarded them a moment before he grabbed Shophan's arm and used a needle to draw a vial of blood. Once he had his sample, he shoved her against the wall roughly and stormed out but thankfully left the light on.

Shophan turned to Sarina finally and regarded her. She was surprised to see that it was a gazelle that shared the cell with her which frankly was smaller than she thought, being only ten-foot square by her best guess. Sarina looked worse for wear, her face bore several bruises and one of her eyes was swollen shut. One of her antlers had been snapped halfway down and a nasty looking gash had crusted shut on her forehead. Looking down, one of the gazelle's ankles were twisted and had a purplish tint to it. Despite all this, the gazelle gave Shophan a caring smile.

"Did he hurt you?" she asked softly.

"N-no, I'll be okay. Do you know what he wants with us?"

Sarina shook her head. "All he said is that he's using us to perfect his craft. We don't know what he means."

"We?" the bunny tilted her head.

"There were originally three of us to my knowledge, a weasel named Jeffrey was locked in here with me and another predator named Tiber, he was an Ocelot from what I can remember." Sarina stuttered a bit as she remembered the next tidbit of information, her eyes closing shut for a moment. "He took Jeffrey first, we heard him scream and soon afterwards, we heard silence, dead silence." She states with a bite of her lip, looking at the door longingly. "Tiber was taken a bit earlier, though I don't know if he's alive or not, I haven't heard any screaming. I don't even remember how long I've been in here, it feels like it's already been a lifetime in here, he said that you were special to him; he needed a bunny to complete his next project."

Shophan shuddered at those words and couldn't even imagine what they meant for her. She wasn't sure what she was dealing with, but something told her that she needed to figure it out soon if she was going to survive this.

Wait a second; I thought the Hoppi Tribe stayed away from modern technologies and conveniences, why would Shophan be working in Savannah Central?" Nick asked as he scratched his chin idly.

Lulu smiled, "We're a spiritual tribe with deep rooted beliefs, but we aren't exactly lost to society!" She says with a slight chuckle, shaking her head. "Our children aren't forced to follow our beliefs, we've adapted to change and welcome whatever path they deem is correct for them. We encourage them to spend time working and living in the city before they make their choice, it's better that way." She says with a small smile, shrugging her shoulders. "Personally, I myself went to college and got a proper education before rejoining the tribe and becoming what I am today."

Nick nodded and Judy chimed in. "How did you find out about her disappearance?"

"Shophan's friend that was sharing a room with her, she saw it on the news and drove out to tell me." Lulu said softly, "I don't have much information regarding her disappearance, but I brought a few photographs from her home to hopefully help in finding her." She finished and slid a photograph across the desk to the two detectives.

They leaned forwards and looked at the photo and Nick's ears folded back. Shophan was a grey bunny with shining green eyes and a cutesy smile. In the photo, she was sitting on a wolf's shoulders and was hugging around his head.

"Who's the wolf in the picture?" Judy asked.

"Oh, that's Kurt Nashoba; he's from the tribal police! There's a couple of wolf tribes out there in the meadow-lands that operate under the authority of the police out there and our tribe is under their jurisdiction, Kurt has always been a friend to us, he's very sweet once he warms up to you."

"Does he know she's missing?" Nick asked now.

"Yes, he's the fellow that drove me out here, he asked me to leave his card here with you two detectives so he can be informed of any case developments. If you'll excuse me I have to return to my tribe, they will need much spiritual guidance when they find out about Shophan's disappearance, thank you so much for your time detectives, please bring her home safe!" The little bunny says, grabbing Judy's hands and grasping them in her own, holding them tight for support before nodding to the pair and leaving the scene.

"We'll do our very best Miss Sikya'tavo!" Judy replied, waving her hand as the rabbit hopped out of their office accordingly.

Lulu gives them a kind smile then left the offices. Nick regarded the picture and looked back to Judy. "She looks a lot like you Carrots." He said softly.

"Oh har har, because all bunnies look alike?" Judy said wryly.

"No I mean it. Her fur is only a shade darker than yours and her face is very similar. If she had the same lavender to her eyes, you'd be twins." He replied and put his paws up defensively.

Judy shrugged and looked at the picture again, taking it in her paws before putting it back down with a sigh. "You're right, there's no way this freak would've done something this coincidental, you have any idea on what this means Nick?"

"I don't know, but it can't be good." He shrugged.

Before she could say anything, they heard the lieutenant's voice call out to them. "Hopps, Wilde, My office. NOW."

"Well, she sounds ecstatic today Carrots." He says, his snide remark quickly met with a swift jab to the side of his arms from his partner. "Ouch, c'mon Carrots I'm only joking." He says as he waited for his partner to take the lead so he could follow behind her.

"Come on, better not keep her waiting." Judy said and walked towards the office.

"Hopps, I know that you were rather shaken by the killer's notes, are you holding up well?" Lieutenant Catano asked gently, though her expression betrayed her mind, something much larger was weighing on her conscious.

"Yes ma'am, it was mostly a shock but I will be fine." Judy replied.

"Good, I hope you understand that I will have to keep closer tabs on you so that I can intervene if you get emotionally compromised by the case."

"Yes ma'am." Judy said as her ears fell back.

"Now, the main reason I called you here is that this case has took a new twist thanks to the latest victim being a tribal." Catano sighed.

"What does that mean Ma'am?" Nick asked.

"It means that the ZBI has now taken a larger scale interest in our progress and will be watching our every move, two of their top agents are said to be dispatched out to the heart of the city to oversee the circumstances, I've gotten enough clearance to not have them interfere with the case, but we have to understand that from now on we can have absolutely no fuck-ups, we will get this case taken away from us faster than donuts on Clawhauser's desk."

"Yes Ma'am!" they replied in unison.

"Excellent. Now, what do we have?"

"While we found no prints or fur at the crime scene, we did get our first solid lead. The killer left a Midnicampum Holicithias flower at the scene with the stamen pulled out." Judy replied as she had immediately pulled out her notebook, "According to one of Nick's informants, there's a new drug ring that uses the pollen of the flower to obtain a psychotropic high, I'd like to go undercover and see what we can find out." She says running her eyes over the notes to make sure that they were accurate to her speech.

"Absolutely not Hopps. In case you hadn't noticed, there's not that many bunnies running around that are missing their legs. On top of that, bunnies are rarely if at all found at drug dens doing nip and wool. You'd be pegged for a snitch the minute you walk in the door." Catano replied and glared at Judy.

"But-" Judy attempted to interject.

"No 'buts' Hopps. You are not going in there."

"What about me?" Nick asked which made both the Sergeant and Judy snap their gazes to him. "I mean, us foxes aren't exactly held in high regard and nobody would bat an eye at seeing one in a drug den."

"Are you actually aware of what you're signing up for Wilde? Undercover narcotics isn't exactly as simple as putting on a disguise and giving yourself a new name, you're expected to prove that you're not a cop. You may have to dip into the drugs themselves or much, much worse. There's a pretty obvious reason why the narcotics division has such a high transfer rate." Catano says, raising her brow with a wiggle.

"I'm pretty aware of the situation boss, we're already looking at one dead body and we've got three missing mammals, the faster we can catch this bastard the better." He says with a stubborn smirk on his face, a chuckle escaping his lips. "I'm not too sure whether you've been informed about my past, I'm pretty street smart if I do say so myself." He says crossing his arms, annoyed that his request is being dragged on like this.

The Sergeant raised her paw. "I don't need to hear specifics. Fine, you have my approval and Hopps will run surveillance here." She finished as she rubbed her eyes with her paw. "Wilde, this is a dangerous game that you are playing, no unnecessary risks, understand? Report to Grizolli in Narcotics and he'll get you outfitted for undercover."

"Yes Ma'am." He replied and slid off the chair he and Judy shared. He ignored the worried expression on Judy's face and walked out of the office with her in tow.

At the very least, Judy had the tact to wait until they got back to their desks to start talking to Nick about his choice to go undercover. She wore a worried expression and the way he seemed to be easy going about it nearly drove her to the point of tears.

"Nick, I don't like this. Can't we have one of the officers trained in undercover do this?" she begged.

"Carrots, I'll be fine. I promise." He said with the self-confident smirk that he always wore.

It didn't seem to do much to assuage Judy's fears, however, and she grabbed his arm. "Nick. What the Sergeant said…I'm worried."

He sighed and embraced her. "Judy, I promise you, I haven't made this decision lightly. This is the only way we can find out what is going on. If we go in there with guns blazing and making arrests, our killer will disappear we will be back at square one."

She opened her mouth to say something but the words wouldn't come. She knew he was right even if she didn't like it. "Do you at least have a plan?" she asked after a moment.

"As a matter of fact I do Carrots!" He says with a sly smile, patting his little bun on the head. "While we were chatting it up with the Sergeant in there, I got a pretty informative text from Finnick. He says he knows where the drug den is. I'm gonna head in and pose as a small time nip dealer that wants to try selling some of the harder stuff, that might make it possible for me to get away with this without taking any of the drugs myself."

She frowned but seemed to accept this. "O-okay."

He hugged her tighter to his chest, his scent calming her down some. "Don't worry, I know you'll have my back and you won't let anything bad happen." He smiled as he kissed the top of her head and inhaled softly through his nose. Her natural scent was reminiscent to the earthy smell of a grassy field after a rainy day but with a subtle hint of cedar and juniper that wafted over like subtle accent notes to a symphony.

She nodded to him and pecked him with a kiss on his chin, "Alright, well let's get you all dressed up and ready Nick, I'm sure the Sergeant has talked to Grizolli by now."

To the makeup team's credit, by the time they were done with Nick, even Judy had a hard time recognizing him underneath all the makeup. The team held no bars back as they made edits to his facial features, making realistic looking scars that adorned his muzzle, one particular gash across his left eye making him look more menacing. His eye under the scar was completely grayed out, they attached silver caps to his upper canines and a fake set of earrings to his left ear. His outfit was pretty casual for your local druggy, bagged out jeans, an over-sized T-shirt, and a set of rings for each of his fingers. They set him up with some cash so he could actually get around and purchase some of the drugs to get a hold of for examination.

Once he was ready and had a wire hidden inside of his belt buckle, he tried to lift Judy's mood with a prank which involved him being cuffed and led out by Wolford who gave a cheesy: "You're under arrest for having the cutest damn girlfriend ever." While it did result in a small smile from her, she still had a worried expression.

"Hey, come here." He said and placed a kiss on her nose. "Don't worry, I have a camera and a recorder right here." He said and gestured to his belt. "You can watch my every move and send in back up if anything happens, okay?"

She nodded and took his paw in hers so that she could kiss his palm. "Please be careful."

"Always am carrots, I'll see you soon." He says with his cocky smirk and gave her one last kiss before he turned for the stairs.

Finnick's van backfired loudly as it chugged its way into Happytown, even though his French rap music was blaring from the speakers, the engine's lack of maintenance could be heard slightly sputtering through the jarring beats of the foreign tunes.

"Ya know Fin, you ought to consider retiring Ol' Bess. She doesn't sound like she's doing too good." Nick said with a chuckle.

"You fuckin' kidding me? She's never been better!" the diminutive fox in the driver's seat said in that disproportionately bass filled voice of his.

Nick chuckled and looked over the rim of his sunglasses at the fennec. "So, what exactly is this new drug?"

"Well, word on the street is that they're calling it Blue Mist. You can snort it or smoke it to get the high and it's supposed to be this whole psychedelic experience." Finnick said with a shrug. "I've never touched the stuff myself but I've seen mammals that have, that shit fries your brain man. You ain't even lucid for hours on end after taking a hit."

Nick nodded solemnly in response. "So it's like the Big Bite scare from the 70's?"

"Yeah, but it isn't really that bad yet, the stuff hasn't exactly been on the streets that long y'know." The little fennec licking his dry lips as he turns to his former partner in crime. "You got any actual plans for going in there, or are you still as blind luck reliant as ever?" He says with a deep scoff.

"Yeah yeah, I'm going in to pose as a dealer who wants to get on the gravy train early on, the main goal is to see if anyone is sneaking off with the remains of the flower as that may be our killer. Narcotics wants me to wear a wire and a camera to help collect evidence so that they can shut down the ring." He says with a shrug, as ready as he'll ever be.

Fin nodded and turned down towards the warehouses that were nestled in the back corner of Happytown.

The warehouse area of Happytown was once a major shipping and distribution network for Zootopia until the companies that used them relocated to Tundra Town in favor of the river system that led out to the canal district. Nowadays, they are popular with vagrants and gangs and aren't really patrolled by the ZPD thanks to Happytown's reputation which makes the entire area a haven for crime.

Finnick parked the van in front of the warehouse on the farthest end of the row and hopped out with Nick in tow. They were regarded suspiciously by a wolf and a weasel as they approached and Nick made a note that they were rather openly packing heat. They encountered no resistance from the guards and were pointed towards the office that was attached to the side of the warehouse.

Once inside, they were greeted with several mammals ranging in size from ferrets to tigers laying out on the ground and across the sparse pieces of furniture that occupied the corners of the room. Each mammal looked higher than clouds, the expressions on their faces almost comedic if it wasn't so sad to see so many drugged out bastards in one place. They moved through the doorway lead by a gruff looking leopard, he stopped them at the entrance, though it was obvious that somebody was scurrying around behind him.

"What's your fix ese? I got everything you need, I even got the new shit." The leopard said with a heavy accent.

"Nah bro, we don't fuck around with this shit, we're here because we want in this joint right now." Nick said, waving his hand in front of him as if the Leopard was disrespecting him.

"Whatcha mean by that, you want in?" He says leaning over the fox with crossed arms.

"We're Nip dealers in central, heart of the city boy; we want some of that good shit we've been looking for out here." Nick was decent at keeping his intentions known and keeping his street self out, the cursing was certainly much more prevalent!

The leopard stared them down for what felt like an eternity Nick had to force himself to keep that smirk on his face. Finnick seemed to stay calm enough despite the angry scowl on his face.

Before Nick's fight or flight instinct kicked in, the Leopard finally spoke. "What makes you think I want anyone in?"

"Word on the street is that you can't get this shit outside of Happytown and the only street dealer was picked up by the fuzz." Finnick said. "You want to expand and we want to make money. We both win, plain and simple."

The Leopard smirked and waved them through the door. "You're smarter than the average nip dealers. Fine, come with me." He said and walked into the warehouse.

Inside was well established, that was for sure. "You gotta be fuckin' with me." He said in disbelief as he took his glasses off, staring at the whole operation, the almost flawless system of drug smuggling was impressive, y'know, for a bunch of druggies. It then hit Nick that everybody in the damn room was naked, not that it really mattered to him, he used to be a regular at that one nudist joint where he took Judy all those years ago, probably naked so they couldn't smuggle any of the new shit out with em'.

"As you can probably see here, we have a nice set up going for us y'know?" He says with a raise of his brows, raising a paw to scope out the whole room. "Not exactly the cheapest shit to produce, so you got the clientele to make this proposal of yours happen kid?" He says going back to crossing his arms after he finished explaining the situation.

"We deal to the businessmammals in central that wanna get high but don't wanna touch shit like wool and bite, trust me when I say we'll be able to move it for you." Nick relied.

"Here's the deal here ese, this shit is five grand a BRICK, that shit is a kilo a brick, you pay up front and whatever you sell it for is your business, don't associate with us." He says crossing his arms in an X. "If you can move this shit as fast as you say you can, we'll discuss these terms on better grounds later."

"Done. I'll take a brick." Nick said as he reached into his pocket to pull out a roll of cash to drop it into the leopard's waiting paws.

Several minutes dazed by while the boss of the operation counted out the cash, whistling softly as he finally picked up a brick of the stuff and set it down in Nick's paws. "I like you both; I look forward to our next business transaction." He says with a wink. "Remember though, you kids snitch on us, you die hung up in the streets as examples." He says breaking out his claws and dragging it over his neck as a threat.

Nick turned to walk out and bumped into a meek looking serval that was clutching a bundle of Nighthowlers. Nick didn't really pay much mind to him as he ran by, pushing the serval out of his way as he shook his fist. "The fuck you doing kid, watch where you're going." He snarled and stormed off with Finnick following close behind while he ignored the profuse apology from the serval.

Once back in the van and well away from the warehouse, Finnick spoke up. "That cat, you looked really pissed when you bumped into him, like actually pissed." Nick replied with a shrug, "I'm a great actor."

"That was Les Catsidy. He can probably lead us to the murderer, he's a suspect now." He says crossing his arms, glad he could drop the gangster facade; he always hated how they talked.

"Why's that?"

"Our perp left a Nighthowler at the scene of the last kitnapping and Les was walking out with a pawful, little shit's probably dealing it out like candy."


	4. Chapter 4

"Wait! You saw Les there?!" Judy squeaked as she threw herself next to the makeup team to try and question Nick while he was getting his disguise removed.

"Yeah, it was weird. I turned around and crashed right into him. The dummy was walking out with a pawful of Nighthowlers too. Honestly carrots, I think he might be our biggest suspect." Nick replied and winced when one of the fake scars was peeled away which, in turn, tugged on his fur.

"Maybe... I can see him being able to kitnap a Gazelle, but an Ocelot? Don't you think he'd need some help considering the size difference between the two?" Judy asked as she crossed her arms.

"Good question, but I wouldn't underestimate any type of pred, let alone a weird one like that guy. Don't you remember back in history class whenever the teacher would talk about how small preds used to hunt down larger prey." he shrugged.

"Think we should go talk to him?" she asked yawning heavily, her voice distorted by it.

"Well, he's obviously not in his office, we should go first thing in the morning." He replied.

Judy opened her mouth to respond when they heard a loud scream that echoed in from the main atrium.

Without a word, they stood up, tranquilizer guns in paw and ran for the source of the scream.

Nothing could prepare them for the grotesque sight they were greeted with. Staggering through the atrium was a feline of sorts, though his fur and skin had been flayed from his body leaving him a staggering mass of bleeding muscle. His face was contorted in agony and he reached out to anyone nearby, pleading with them.

"S-some-one. Please…help…me." He whimpered before he finally collapsed to the floor in a puddle of blood.

Everyone in the atrium was stunned by the sight of what happened and several onlookers who had witnessed the feline approach the building had gathered by the doors and windows to look in morbid curiosity. Some fainted while others spilled the contents of their stomachs in revulsion.

Finally, it was Bogo that broke the stunned silence of the room with his massive booming voice. "Clawhauser, I want EMT's down here now. Officers Delgato, McHorn, Trunkerby, get these civilians out of here! Fangmeyer, this is now a crime scene, cordon it. Higgins, he had to come from somewhere, find it out!"

Just like that the entire room was instantly abuzz with activity with officers and civilians alike scrambling to do what they were told. Judy and Nick gave each other a quick look and dashed down the stairs towards the commotion. They forced themselves to look at the body which had become completely still. It was a smaller feline, that was the only thing they could be sure of. As to his species, that was unclear as every inch of his skin had been removed and it was a wonder that he lived long enough to make it to the ZPD building.

"Chief, what the hell is going on here?" Nick asked, a mix of shock and anger in his voice.

"A few minutes ago, we had this poor bastard stagger in dripping with blood, how he managed to power through the streets to make it here just to die without saying a word about who killed him is beyond me, listen here Wilde, do you think this could be the same killer as the two previous cases?"

"Maybe, it meets our sick bastard's level of sadism quite nicely."

Bogo nodded and turned to Fangmeyer, "Detectives Hopps and Wilde think this may be related to their case, make sure all evidence and reports pass by their desk as soon as possible!"

Fangmeyer nodded and returned to setting up the police line on the lobby.

By the time Nick returned his gaze to Judy, she had already begun her examination of the body. While she looked queasy at the sight of it, she managed to keep herself composed and her stomach in check. Nick approached her and forced himself to ignore the strong copper stench of blood when it hit his nose.

"What the hell do you think you're doing without any protective equipment on carrots, it's dangerous!" he asked, paw held over his nose, one paw extended to on her shoulder, eager to keep her from getting any of the viscous red liquid on her.

Judy didn't answer him at first, instead, her gaze followed the bloodied footprints that led up to the building. "He had to have come from somewhere…" she mumbled and began to follow them.

Nick simply sighed in protest and followed her as she headed out the door and past the throng of curious onlookers.

The trail was quite conspicuous, being a series of sanguine splashes on the ground with several smaller drops around and between them. With how much blood there was, it amazed them that the victim survived long enough to make it to the lobby of the ZPD.

Thanks to Wolford's quick work, the trail was blocked off by a string of crime scene tape and officers which allowed them to quickly follow the trail as it led down the steps and around the front of the building to an alley between two adjacent buildings.

"Nick, that feline must've been in unbelievable pain, how did he even manage to make it this far?"

"I don't know carrots...wait, I smell something." He said as his nose twitched, then wrinkled in disgust. "Smells like rotting meat."

They drew their tranquilizer guns and Judy pulled out a flashlight to illuminate the dark alley. The sight that greeted them was not quite what they expected. In the middle of the alley was a dark puddle of blood that had already begun to congeal. To one side on the ground was a long and thin blade and directly in the middle of the puddle was a Nighthowler flower, it's indigo petals stained crimson.

Judy shoved her gun into its holster and let out a frustrated growl that she accented with a punch to the wall. Nick's ears folded back and he placed a paw on her shoulder.

"Judy, calm down." He said gently, using her name rather than her nickname to try and console her.

"I can't calm down! Not when there's a fucking psychopath out on the streets!" she shouted and tried to ignore the pang of guilt that crept in when he cringed at her outburst. She sighed and pulled out her radio. "This is Detective Hopps, Send a CSI unit to Peak Street. We are in an alley between the Bank of Zootopia and McCat's tavern. I believe we found where our victim was attacked."

Nick, meanwhile, had already begun an inspection the alley. "Carrots, I don't see the pelt anywhere, I think he took it with him."

"Dammit, he did this to say that we can't touch him. I mean, he did this right in our front yard." She growled and gestured to the ZPD building that was right across the street from them.

Nick wrapped his arms around her and held her close. "Carrots, we're going to catch the bastard, okay? But right now, we have a job we need to do so let's get the crime scene blocked off for the CSI's."

She sighed and hugged him tight, a fresh frustrated tear running down her face, colliding with Nick's jacket as she just stood there and sighed. "Yeah, alright."

It wasn't long until a black and white striped van stopped in front of the alley and a team of technicians in hazmat gear started to comb over the entire area. Nick and Judy, having secured the area, immediately went back to the precinct to pick up a car and make their way to the Zootopia Journal.

"Do we have a plan?" Judy asked as she nervously tapped the rubber pad that made up her foot against the dashboard.

"Well, I figured we'll confront him about being at the drug den with the Nighthowlers. Let's not mention the murders or that we've found the flowers at the crime scene." He said as he drummed his fingers against the steering wheel.

They had just arrived at the Zootopia Journal which in all honesty wasn't one of the largest building in Sahara Square, but it was one of the most read papers in the entire city.

"Alright, let's get this creep to croak!" She said eagerly as she stepped out of the cruiser and made her way to the building with Nick close behind.

Inside the lobby was sparsely furnished with little more than an oak desk and a three metal chairs against a wall. At the desk was a pretty ewe with bright blue eyes and pleasant looking smile who looked up at them when they entered.

"Good afternoon, how may I help you?" The sheep asked, her voice humming a bit as she noted her two guests.

"Yes, I'm Detective Wilde, this is my partner Detective Hopps. We're here to speak with Les Catsidy." Nick said and held out his badge for the ewe's inspection.

"Ah yes, one moment." She said and pressed a button on her intercom. "Les, there's a Detective Wilde and Detective Hopps here to see you."

The other end of the line was dead for a moment but finally crackled to life. "O-oh y-yes, send them up!"

"Yes sir." She said with a cheery voice. "Just up the stairs behind me, his office is on the second floor and is third on the right."

Les' office was oddly reminiscent of Bellwether's boiler room office. It wasn't very large and it was cluttered from the stacks of paper and photos that lined the walls as well as the filing cabinets that hugged one side of the room. The wall behind his desk had all its paint outright covered by the papers that were taped and tacked to it.

Les spent the first couple minutes that they were in the office scrambling to free his desk of its clutter as well as apologizing profusely for the mess. After he finally settled down, and with Nick and Judy's assurances that they weren't concerned about the mess, he finally settled down. "S-so what can I do for you detectives?" The Serval asked shyly.

"Well Les, I was just wondering something and perhaps you could help me out a little bit with my question, what exactly were you doing in the Blue Mist den last night?" Nick bluntly asked and kept his trademarked smirk on his muzzle.

Les froze and his eyes darted between Nick and Judy. "Wait! That fox was you?!" he yelped, "I-I…Well…I was doing a bit of investigating."

Nick raised an eyebrow. "Les you better have a damn good explanation to what "investigating" is because right now I can arrest you and throw you in a cell for the next ten years of your life for withholding information from an officer and drug trafficking." He says with a bit of a coo in his voice, taking the situation as nonchalant as possible, inspecting his paws while he spoke.

"I heard about the new drugs hitting the streets and I wanted to figure out what it was. They never paid me any attention and didn't care if I walked off with the discarded flowers. I guess they thought I was a little weirdo with an obsession for flowers." Les replied, not making eye contact with either of them.

"Sure, what exactly did you find out? Because it better be damn good unless you want a ticket straight to a cell." Judy crossed her arms with a frown.

"That Blue Mist is huge overseas, about as big as bite is over here. I think mostly found in the areas around Spain where Nighthowlers grow rather profusely. Apparently Blue Mist has been around for ages and was brought over by folks like the leopard you met at that den. He had started a bit before Bellwether's scheme but was slowed down when they put the flowers on the controlled farming supplies list. He's finally got a method of bringing in the flowers and refining the pollen into Blue Mist over here."

"So why did you take the flowers?" Nick asked with a raised eyebrow and an expression that barely hid that he was unconvinced.

Les opened a drawer and pulled out a large zip-top bag filled with the flowers. "Evidence. Once I had enough information, I planned on going public with my findings and to bring it all to the police."

Nick nodded slowly, "One last question, have you spotted anyone there that drives a black van?" he asked.

"I haven't, no." Les said with a shake of his head.

"Thanks for your time but for your own safety, I'd stay out of the drug den if I were you." Nick said and stood up.

"Y-yes, of course Detective Wilde." Les squeaked.

Without another word, Nick turned and left with Judy taking up point behind him. Once out in the parking lot, he broke his silence.

"I'm not buying it. This creeps a fucking suspect for sure, it's taking every fiber of my being not to jail him right now, but I need a warrant and evidence to do so"

"Oh come on Nick, he seems harmless enough. I mean, what journalist won't put themselves in harm's way for the next big scoop?" She replied.

"I dunno Judy, he doesn't sit well with me and I don't feel comfortable ruling him out as a suspect just yet. I just got a gut feeling, y'know?"

"Oh, you're just being paranoid, slick."

"Maybe, but that paranoia has kept me alive this long."

She rolled her eyes and smiled. "Whatever you say, I don't think he's a problem but we won't rule him out yet if it makes you feel better."

He smirked, "What? You letting it go this easy. Who are you and what have you done with Judy Laverne Hopps?" He chuckled and feigned a wide-eyed expression of shock.

"Oh hush you." She says playfully. "Come on, let's get back to the station."

Fortunately, much of the gruesome scene had been cleared from the Precinct's atrium and the only evidence that remained was the tape outline that had been placed around the body surrounded by police tape. Judy and Nick remained silent as they tried to push the mental image they had out of their heads when Clawhauser spoke up.

"Judy, this arrived for you. There's no return address and the driver couldn't tell me where it was from." He said, already looking wary about the object.

Judy gulped and took the package from the cheetah's paws. She slid on a set of gloves and used her pocket knife to carefully cut along the tape. Once the seam was open, she slowly opened the flaps and picked up what was inside. She stared at it and turned her head away, angry, but not surprised at the gift, she knew this was bound to show up sooner or later.

The rabbit dropped to her knees and put the box down, softly sighing. "It's his fur Clawhauser, the victim's fur." She says, shaking her head, her teeth gritted hard.

Nick gulped, slid on a pair of gloves for himself, and pulled out a piece of paper that was taped to the inside of the box.

"Dear Judy," he read aloud, "It's almost winter and I wanted you to stay warm. I hope you love it! Sincerely, your biggest fan."

Nick gave a snarl and dropped the letter back into the box, all the will in his body keeping him from tearing up the dastardly note. "Clawhauser, get the CSI's up here. I doubt we'll get much, but better safe than sorry."

The plump cheetah immediately had the phone in his hand while Nick wrapped Judy in his arms and gently led her away from the box.

"Come on carrots, let's get you out of here." He said and led her to the break room.

He placed a cup of her favorite tea into her paws and pressed a loving kiss to her lips. "I'll be right back. I'm going to talk to the Sergeant." He said softly and turned towards the door.

"Wait, he did what?" the lithe cheetah sitting across from him growled, slamming her paws into her desk, causing everything currently on the desk to now be off the desk.

"He made her a coat from the latest victim's pelt." Nick stated, his throat feeling awfully dry as he mutters the words.

Sergeant Kii Catano rubbed the bridge of her nose and sighed. "Wilde, I don't think we can keep Hopps on this case. The killer is too obsessed with her for her to safely be working it."

Nick nodded solemnly. "I couldn't agree with you more, I feel like we need to put her under protection and keep her away from this case, but the problem is, even if you take her off the case, she's still going to work it whether we like it or not."

"Bogo warned me you two were going to be a pain in my ass." She groaned. "What do you suggest we do?"

"I'm going to try to talk her into at least taking a few days off and put her under guard for her protection. We can even let her do some of the case work from home and that should keep her from trying to come back in."

Kii nodded. "Very well Wilde, get her to take a break from here. I'll talk to Bogo about putting a couple of officers on protective detail for her."

"Thank you ma'am." He said and stood to leave.

"Oh. Before I forget. Agent Anthony Ceptos and Agent Jack Savage from ZBI just arrived from Headquarters. They'll be reviewing the case information then will want to host a meeting with the patrol officers and everyone working with you on the case. Hopps is allowed in on the meeting but as soon as its over, she'll need to keep her fluffy tail at home. Make sure she knows that I'm not above arresting her to keep her safe."

"Yes ma'am." He replied and left the office.

"But Nick, we have a case to work!" Judy pouted, her replacement legs still thumping along as if they were flesh and bone.

Judy's eyes when she looked at him like this was enough to make him melt. "She's not taking you off the case sweetheart. But as it stands, this killer is way to obsessed with you and it makes us afraid of what he might do to you if he gets his hands on you." He said but paused and his ears folded back as he let his emotional walls down for his love. "I'm terrified of what he might do to you." He finished softly.

She felt the insides of her ears burn red and she gently hugged her arms around him. He lovingly returned the embrace and even dared to let her hear when he fought back the tears with a sniffle.

"Please carrots, for me? It'll just be for a few days." He asked, a hint of sadness in his voice, his pride stripped for his beloved.

She was quiet a moment and sighed. "Okay Nick. I'll do it."

He smiled and kissed her. "Thank you Judy." He said with a tired smile. "On the bright side, Sergeant Catano said you can bring the files and notes home and work from home. We just want you under protection until we can catch this bastard."

She nodded. "At least I won't get bored, right?" she giggled. "So when does my 'vacation' start?" she asked with her fingers wiggling air quotes by her head.

"Tomorrow after we meet with two ZBI agents. They sent two criminal behavior specialists who are looking over the details of the case as we speak, Agents Ceptos and Savage."

"Wait a second, the Agent Savage and Agent Ceptos?" She says sitting up, her ears twitching. "They aren't just criminal behavior specialists Nick, Agent Savage is the top Spy in the country and Agent Ceptos is the top Combat Specialist, why would they send a spy and an assassin to catch a crook like this? It seems like we're being watched by the higher ups Nick, you know we have been ever since we cracked the case! There's no way they'd send two figures like that to catch a serial killer and not try and gather some dirt on us!"

"Still, why did it have to be Agent Savage..." She says putting her paw to her face, sighing heavily.

Nick's ears quipped up at the sound of distress in her voice. "I dunno carrots, you got a problem with the guy?" He says shrugging his shoulders, pretending to be casual.

"Agent Savage and I used to be friends in Highschool, but we drifted away after some things happened." She tilts her head and sighs. "He used to crush on me in Highschool all the time, probably the most awkward four years of my life."

"How bad could he be? I mean, that was years ago. Maybe he's over it now."

She simply glared at him. "You don't know him like I do Nick, he didn't exactly take no for an answer, he always bugged at me like a moth to a flame!"

He smirked, "I guess we'll find out on how well this all goes tomorrow won't we?"


	5. Chapter 5

Instead of the usual rowdiness that was the bullpen, all were quiet as all the patrol officers and several detectives crowded into station's meeting room. While the room was normally reserved for command to have special meetings, it was also used in situations such as this, where the ZBI were to give a briefing.

Standing on a large step ladder at the podium was a rabbit with light grey fur and an unusual tiger stripe pattern to his fur. All in all, he was rather dashing for a bunny and several of the female officers couldn't help but sit up straight and try to show off for the agent. Standing just behind the rabbit to the left was a white-furred Jackal that stood with a solemn expression, a bit of a glare to his features upon closer inspection, his eyes slightly visible through his glasses.

Nick and Judy stood to the left of a large cork-board that held pictures of the crime scenes and photos of the victims before the crimes had happened. Nick could tell Judy was uneasy being so close to Savage and placed a gentle, reassuring paw on her back.

"Thank you all for coming." Jack spoke, his voice had a smooth tone, but still maintained a bit of grit to it. "As you all know, we have a serial killer on the loose here. After myself and my partner Agent Ceptos reviewed the case, we feel we can provide an accurate profile rundown of the killer." Jack shook his head as he glanced around the room. "We're looking for a small to medium sized predator though I'd say no bigger than a coyote. The killer is timid, probably seen as a Beta or even an Omega by those that know him. Given his fascination with Detective Hopps, he's more than likely a preydophile and may be seen around the bars for that in the area. He will most likely work a job that puts him in close to the investigation somehow. He has no clear pattern of victims, we presume him to be an opportunist, striking when it seems best. He's got quite the history of sadism based on these past cases, these deaths were not painless and discrete as other killers we've encountered before, a potential sociopathic killer rather than just a straight psychopath." Jack finished. "Any questions?"

Officer Del Gato stood up. "Yes, how do we know he's a smaller predator? I mean, he was able to get a Gazelle and an Ocelot with what seemed like little struggle."

"The element of surprise, there isn't much more that makes sense other than a weapon or a drug being exposed and the killer essentially forcing them into the van." The jackal replied. "For example," He says quickly pulling out a handgun and aiming it at the Officer before he could react, the Officer only making it to his holster before the Jackal muttered out the words, "Bang, did that surprise you Officer?" He says tilting his head. "More than likely a form of tranquilizer, civilian type weapon that can be concealed and easily accessible without much training."

Del Gato nodded and sat back down, alarmed at the sudden display. "Any other questions?" Jack asked. "Alright, Detective Hopps and Detective Wilde are the leads on this case. For her own safety Hopps is going to be in protective custody and will serve only as an advisory to this case. Agent Ceptos and myself shall be working closely with them until the case is solved. Now let's get this straight and simple, we're here to catch this bastard and at this point and if lethal force is necessary, do not pull your shots down, aim center mass or aim for the head."

As soon as the speech ended, the officers and supporting detectives filed out of the room leaving the two agents and the two detectives by the podium. Jack jumped off the step ladder and smiled at Judy.

"Judith! It's so good to see you again darling!" He said with his charming as ever smile and took her paw in his to kiss the back of it. "I was so worried when I had heard of your accident. I'm so glad it hasn't seemed to slow you down."

Judy froze when he kissed the back of her paw and she couldn't stop the cold shudder as it ran up her spine. "J-Jack, it's been a while."

"Yes it has, hope you've been well!" he says with a grin and looks to Nick. "Forgive my manners sir, you must be the famed Nick Wilde I've heard so much about in recent memory?"

Nick put on that smug smirk of his but Judy could tell he was annoyed, it takes a lot to really steam the Fox, but that kiss came pretty close from the looks of it. "The one and only."

"I hope you've been keeping Judith safe from harm Detective, she's truly an object of affection that needs to be protected."

"Heh, she doesn't need my protection Jack, he's a tough little bunny and I love her for it." Nick replied.

Jack's expression suddenly twisted from a smile to a confused glance. "Love?"

Judy let out an annoyed sigh, figuring this part would come sooner or later. "Jack, Nick and I are together." She says gripping his hand in her own.

It was like the bunny's whole demeanor did a three-sixty. His expression went from happy-go-lucky to cold and unfeeling with his eyes staring daggers at them both. The tension in the air was palpable and even the stern Jackal was getting annoyed at the lack of legitimate action.

Agent Ceptos finally spoke up and broke the anxious air with a soft growl in his tone. "Jack, I believe we had a meeting with Sergeant Catano about the case."

Jack's smile and bright expression returned, "Ah yes, of course! Thank you for the reminder Ceptos, take care you two!" He said and happily walked off with the Jackal following suit, his glasses flickering in the light as his Crimson eyes flash the two Detectives.

'Albino Jackal, but he was far too big of a species to just be that, more than likely crossbred with a Wolf, Timber is the most likely candidate' Judy deduced, tapping her chin, her prosthetic leg thumping rapidly as she lost herself in thought about the duo of agents.

Judy let out a sigh of relief. "They scare me Nick."

He shuddered. "I see what you mean now, Jack seems like a Slimy Rat and Ceptos just seems like a murderer himself."

Judy nodded. "Jack's always been like this, ever since high school he thought I was his girlfriend despite repeatedly telling him I wasn't. He made it impossible to have friends with how jealous he was."

"Don't worry Carrots, once we catch the killer he'll be gone again." He shrugs and lets out a soft sigh in a rapid unison.

"I hope so Nick," she said as she hugged him tight, "He didn't take it well last time."

"What do you mean?"

"My dad had to chase him off the farm with the shotgun a couple of times, he stalked me for a good year before I joined the academy."

He smiled gently and held her close. "Don't worry sweetheart, I won't let him do anything to you. Now come on, let's get everything you're going to want to bring home with you; Bogo said he had your protective detail ready to go."

She nodded and reluctantly pulled herself away from him to make her way to the offices.

When they arrived at their shared apartment, Bogo was there waiting for them along with McHorn and Fangmeyer as well a team of several officers in bullet proof vests whom Judy didn't recognize.

"Hopps, I know this isn't the most ideal circumstances but I hope you understand this is for your own protection." Bogo said, his voice as gruff as ever, though this time it had a hint of worry in it.

"I understand sir." She replied softly and held a soft smile when she felt Nick's reassuring paw on her shoulder.

Bogo nodded, "Officer McHorn and Lieutenant Fangmeyer will oversee your protection detail. Precinct six was also gracious enough to assign a team to assist them so our own force can focus on catching the killer. If you need anything, please give me a call." He finished and headed out, leaving Nick and Judy with the other officers.

"Alright Hopps, the plan is we'll keep two officers posted at your door and one will remain in the apartment with you at all times. We'll have two shifts in 12 hour cycles, I'll oversee the day shift and McHorn will run the night shift." Fangmeyer said and gestured to McHorn who gave a gruff snort in response. "If you need any errands ran, we'll be happy to help you but we can't allow you to leave the apartment for your own safety."

She nodded slowly and set down the box of case-files she had with her. "I understand, thank you, both of you."

The Tiger smiled and gently tousled the fur on top of her head. "Don't worry about it Hopps, we'll get this guy and you'll be back at the precinct in no time."

She let out a cute 'eep' as the tiger's paw engulfed her head but she giggled nonetheless.

"Alright, I'm going to be down in the lobby if you need anything. Officer Bucky will be stationed inside the apartment and Officers Katz and Lobo will at your door." He said as he gestured to a Stag, Lion, and Wolf respectively.

Nick turned to Judy and smiled. "You going to be okay sweetheart?" he asked gently.

"I'll be fine, you go back to work and I'll call you if I think of anything." She says with a smile.

He gave her a gentle kiss on her forehead and followed Fangmeyer out, the fox's tail wagging slightly.

Once they were in the lobby, Nick turned to Fangmeyer. "Hey Fang, you'll be vetting anyone that comes to visit, right?"

The tiger nodded. "Yeah, why?"

"I don't want Savage or Ceptos paying her any visits."

Fang laughed. "Getting jealous Wilde?"

Nick chuckled in response. "Not quite. I just got a bad feeling is all and I'd rather him or that tall fella not be alone with Judy."

The tiger's expression changed from jovial to serious. "Bad feeling how?"

"Apparently, he went to high school with Judy and caused her a bunch of problems. When we met with him this morning, Judy told him that she and I were dating and his expression became, I dunno, dangerous? I can't help but feel like he might be a suspect in this case."

Fang nodded. "Alright, I'll tell Bogo and McHorn. He's not cleared to visit."

"Thanks big guy, beers on me at McCat's after the case."

"Sounds good Wilde, see you later."

As Nick drove to the precinct, his phone rang with a frantic Clawhauser on the line. "Nick! Nick! Get to Zootopia General now! You- we think your Gazelle just staggered in and…oh God it's terrible!"

The intensity and speed in which he made a U-Turn was enough to make the cruiser lift onto two wheels before it slammed down so he could speed to the hospital, sirens screaming. The tires squealed as he parked in the emergency lane and dashed into the ER. He skidded to a halt when he saw that Wolford was already there with a queasy expression on his face.

"They are looking at her now, but they're saying there's probably nothing they can do. Wilde, I've seen some shit but this is a whole new level of fucked up." Wolford said, "I mean, see for yourself…" he said and pointed to an observation window."

Nick walked to the window and his ears folded back against his skull while his eyes went wide. He could feel his stomach churn at the sight. Her arms had been removed at the shoulders and were replaced with arms that were far shorter than they should be. It had only dawned on Nick that they belonged to the weasel victim. What was even more sickening was that she seemed to have a semblance of control over them. She was slowly opening and closing her fist but it was obvious she was in a great deal of pain in doing so.

Part of Nick wanted to turn away and retch, but he forced himself to tap on the glass to get the doctor's attention. The doctor in question was a middle-aged doe with a tired look to her eyes. She perked her ears and turned to the glass to the source of the noise. She nodded and stepped out into the hallway, extending a hoof to him.

"You must be detective Wilde, the officer in the lobby said you'd be coming." The doe said. "Well, she's not going to make it. Her body is rejecting the limbs and she is suffering from a massive infection. At this point, all we can do is make her comfortable and hopefully ease her passing."

Nick sighed and looked up at the doctor. "Can I talk to her? I need to find out what she knows."

"Go ahead, I just gave her a pretty expansive dose of painkillers and it'll be a few minutes before it kicks in. I ask that you be easy with her, she's been through hell."

He nodded and gently pushed into the room and noticed that the gazelle was looking at him intently despite the swelling over one of her eyes.

"Hello, I'm Detective Nick Wilde. What's your name?" He says quaintly, putting his hands on his lap, barely able to speak.

"S-Sarina." She wheezed.

"Sarina, I know this is hard, but I really need any information about who did this to you or the other victim." He said with a soft voice, pulling a chair up by her bed and pulling his notebook out. "Take your time, there's no need to rush."

She took a deep breath and let out a hacking cough before she spoke. "W-we never s-saw his f-face. He always…h-had a mask on and a s-suit to h-hide his body."

Nick's pen flew across the page as she spoke, "Did he ever say what he was hoping to accomplish or if he had a plan?"

She shook her head. "All h-he s-said was th-that he n-needed us f-for a project. P-Please, y-you got to save Sh-Shophan…He said she w-was most important."

It was getting obvious that she was struggling as the sedatives started to take hold on her. He desperately needed more but he couldn't bring himself to deny her at least some peace before she passed. Instead, he smiled and brushed a golden lock of her hair from her face. "Thank you, you've been a tremendous help. Get some rest, okay?"

She nodded and gave him a weak smile before she closed her eyes. He breathed a small sigh and left the room to be greeted by the doctor. "Detective. Since you seemed to know of her, does she have any family?"

"I don't know, but I was able to get her name and I'm going to run it through Missing Mammals to see if we can locate any family or next of kin. How much time does she have?"

"Hard to say. Between her body rejecting the limbs and the infection, I don't think she'll make it till the morning. Detective, whoever did this knew what he was doing. When she staggered in here, she had full control of those arms."

He nodded. "When we were examining our first victim, we had the same conclusion. I need to get back the precinct, I'm going to call ahead and get her running through the database. Here's my card also, in case she says anything else."

"Goodbye detective." The doe said and started walking down the hallway on her rounds.

Nick gave a glum nod to Wolford and headed to where he parked his squad car. As he got in, he pulled out his cell phone and placed the call to have Sarina run through the database.

It was shortly after 7PM that Nick arrived at the precinct, giving a polite wave to Clawhauser as he headed up the stairs to the Sergeant's office. She was in the midst of a phone call with someone and it didn't seem to be going well.

"Tell your agents to ease up. They're here as a provision, not to take command. I don't give a flying fuck if you're the Goddamned president of the fucking country, this is my case and your agents need to back off! Goodbye!" she shouted and slammed the phone into the receiver. "Yes Wilde?"

"Ma'am. I have an update on the case." He said with his ears folded back. He proceeded to bring her up to date on the new victim and she pinched the bridge of her muzzle.

"Wilde. This is the very definition of shit hitting the fan. The ZBI is looking for an excuse to take over this case and this might be the very one they need. This is three victims in a week."

"I know ma'am, but I have a good feeling on-" Nick started but was interrupted by the office door opening.

"Sergeant, I have an issue with…Oh Detective Wilde! Good, this makes things easier!" The smooth-pitched voice of Jack Savage spoke up. "Why is it that when I went to try visit Judith I was denied entry by an angry looking Tiger?"

Catano looked to Nick. "Because you don't have any clearance to see her." The cheetah said.

"And why is that? She is still assigned to the case that we've been called in for and yet I'm unable to meet with her to discuss said case." The bunny said, his cheery demeanor starting to fade again.

Nick was the one to speak up this time. "It's standard procedure. When an officer is in protective custody, only the Chief can authorize anyone to see her. She is still reachable by phone if you need to speak with her. If you have an issue with any of that, take it up with Bogo."

Jack smiled and it sent chills up Nick's spine. "Enjoy your little fling while you can Wilde. She'll come to her senses." He said and stormed out of the office.

"Well he's a fucking basket of sunshine." Catano said after she was certain the angry bunny was gone.

"That right there is why I think he may be our top suspect."

"Careful with an accusation like that Wilde, you'd better have some serious proof or the ZBI will chew you up and spit you back out, they have that Ceptos fella here, and something tells me he isn't all just scary looks and rumors." She squints her eyes. "Scars tell stories Wilde, he took his shirt off in the changing room after a training routine and I swear to God it looks like he fell into a knife pit and came out the other side alive."

"I'm working on it, but be careful what you say around him about Judy." Nick replied, his ears flat against his skull.

It was some time around one in the morning by the time Nick finished his paperwork and headed home. He had found Sarina's brother and made a call for some patrolman to go to him, at least having that bit of closure going for him. Once at his building, he waved to McHorn who was standing by the elevator.

"Hey big guy, anything exciting happen?" he asked.

"Nah, yer good Wilde." The rhino said gruffly.

Nick nodded and rode the elevator up to his floor. He could tell something was up the minute the doors open, the air didn't smell right. He pulled out his firearm and held it ready as he walked down the hall. He rounded the corner and found that there were no officers guarding the door. He padded over quietly and pushed it open and found a young wolf officer lying on the floor, not dead, but incapacitated without a scratch on him.

"Carrots?" he called. "Judy?" his voice frantic as he searched the apartment and to his horror not finding her but instead seeing the bedroom window wide open and the fire escape lowered. "FUCK!" He shouted and stormed back into the living room to see that Judy's prosthetics were left by the dining table. Frantic, he grabbed his radio and shouted into it. "Officer down! Officer down! 1060 Baobab Road apartment 140. Hopps is missing." He snarled and dropped it to the floor. "Savage, I'm going to fucking kill you." He growled under his breath.


	6. Chapter 6

"Wilde, you need to calm down and tell me what happened." Bogo's gruff voice echoed through Wilde's ears, his brown eyes penetrating deep into his being.

"With all due respect Chief Bogo, fuck you. Judy is out there and being held captive by that fucking psychopath!" He barked, unable to keep his lips from forming a snarl.

Bogo snorted in irritation but he could hardly blame him. "Wilde, please, sitting here and yelling isn't going to help her; tell me what you know."

He sighed and sat down. "I came home from my shift and came to the lobby, McHorn says everything was doing fine so I decided to head up to the second floor, I got to the floor and found our apartment door open. Upon entering the apartment I found Officer Lobo unconscious on the floor. I immediately ran through the apartment and found the bedroom window open and the fire escape extended. I also discovered Judy's prosthetic legs by the kitchen table which confirmed that she didn't sneak off on her own. Upon concluding that she had been kitnapped, I called for backup."

One of the advisory detectives took down his statement while Bogo looked around. He watched as Nick dug his claws into the sofa, tearing furrows into the cushions. "Wilde, we'll find her."

"Why are you busy questioning me when we know who took her, it was that rat bastard Savage!" He snarled.

"How do you know? Your evidence is circumstantial at best and any judge would shrug it off as delusional nonsense before he'd give us a warrant. We'll watch him but we should be tactful. Do you honestly think that a federal agent that has shown no signs of treachery would turn rogue just because of your relationship?" The large Cape Buffalo shakes his head back and forth quickly.

Nick sighed, feeling slightly defeated. "Yes Sir."

"Wilde, promise me you won't do anything rash."

"Honestly sir, I can't."

"Just be careful. I don't want to have to put you in cuffs."

"Yes sir." The conversation was blunt enough to bludgeon even the thickest skinned Rhinoceros, but it seemed the two males had come to an understanding at the very least.

Judy groaned as a pounding headache throbbed to life in her temple, the last thing she could remember, she was sitting at her table, reading some of the latest case notes that the crime lab provided for her before she felt something pressed to her nose and then the cold feeling of slipping unconscious.

She winced as she opened her eyes and felt them be assaulted by the bright lights of the room. She went to rub her eyes but found that her paws were restrained as well as her legs and waist, she blinked slowly, trying to stop her vision from swimming and found a figure standing over her. "W-where am I?" She whimpered, her vision starting to clear.

"Safe." A voice replied

She couldn't help but find the voice to be familiar and she strained her eyes, working to focus until the details of the figure became visible. "Y-You!" She squeaked, her eyes widening as she struggled against her bindings.

"Judy, dear, please, don't struggle. You'll only hurt yourself. We have a lot to do to get you ready."

"For what?!"

"Ready for you to accept my help."

Nick couldn't even remember how he ended up at the ZPD office, his head had been a whirlwind of emotion ever since he had gotten home last night and now he found himself storming up towards the spare office they've given to Savage and Ceptos for use. When he kicked the door in, he was inwardly pleased to see the bunny was alone.

Savage didn't show any annoyance at his loud entrance and instead greeted him with that unnerving smile. "Ah Detective Wilde, to what do I owe this-"

He was cut off by Nick storming over and giving him a rough left hook across the jaw. "Where the fuck is she Savage?"

Savage's visage darkened, grabbing Nick's fist and pushing it aside, cracking his neck back and forth. "You're out of your league fox, don't pick fights you can't win." He said in an eerie voice.

Nick snarled and went to swing again but before he could even blink Savage had ducked and kicked both his feet into Nick's stomach, sending the fox across the room and into the wall. Nick yelped as the wind was knocked from his lungs and stars filled his eyes.

He barely had time to register what just happened or the unusual strength of the bunny before Savage was on him again, paws jackhammering into his gut and making him double over while coughing heavily as Jack stood over him.

"Give it up Wilde, you're outmatched."

"Fuck…you" Nick wheezed, reaching slowly behind his back towards his waistband.

"Don't do it Wilde." Jack warned, a bemused smirk on his face. "I'll warn you one more time, don't do it. You won't like the outcome of the situation."

In a swift motion Nick drew his firearm, pointing it at the bunny. He went to pull back the hammer when a white blur overtook him, slamming him against the wall, sending what felt like an earth-shattering bomb off against Nick's chest, his gun being swiftly grabbed in the moment of shock and dismantled by the blur, now taking shape of a large canine, a Jackal to be more precise. His free arm was prepped up to deliver the decisive finishing blow before the voice of Jack snapped him back into reality.

"He's had enough Anthony. Hold him there."

"I ought to knock you both out right now, you're both disgusting to me." He says clenching his fist against Nick's shirt, "You two children need to quit your bickering and get your shit together, there is a serial killer on the loose and we're here to stop them, you need to get your jealousy and your obsession under control before I take over this mission myself to keep either of you from compromising it." He lowers his fist, his hand still clenched painfully tight.

He wanted to wonder where the Jackal had come from, but he was more focused on how happy he was that the Jackal decided not to throw that punch. He was sure one eye was swollen shut but it was hard to tell with how his vision was swimming. All he could do at the moment is fight the desire to pass out and hang from Anthony's grip on his shirt.

"Now Wilde, what made you think it was a good idea to just waltz in here and attack me?" Savage asked.

Nick wheezed and spit out some of the blood that had pooled in his maw from the beating. He groaned when he saw that one of his sharp canines was on the floor as well.

Agent Ceptos pushed him up against the wall harder, his grip on the fox's shirt tightening as blood is spilt on his suit. "You cough up one more drop of blood on my coat and I will snatch the life out of you."

The mutual nod between the Jackal and the fox confirmed their agreement.

"I kn-know that you took her Savage." He stammered out, his head starting to throb as the numbness wore off.

"Who? Judith?" Savage asked with a smirk and couldn't help but let a small chuckle escape from his lips.

"What? Can't accept that she got wise and ran off from being in a relationship with a filthy fox like yourself?"

He bared his teeth in response. "She wouldn't get very far without her prosthetic legs you bootleg spy fuck, now tell me where she is you sack of shit!" he barked.

The Jackal turned his head to look at Jack, tilting his head before asking, "What is he talking about?"

Jack's expression went from playful and teasing to dark and even visibly concerned. "Wait. What?"

"Don't play dumb with me, I know you took her."

"Wilde, I don't have her."

"Bullshit! You kitnapped her just to get her away from me."

Savage jumped up and slapped him across the muzzle. "Would you quit with the fucking dramatics and listen for one second? I may be obsessed with her, but I'd never EVER hurt her. I'm content knowing she's happy; even if it's a fox that is making her happy." Jack said with less than subtle disgust in his voice. "If she's missing, I think the killer has made his final move. Based on your last victim, we think that the killer plans on using your bunny victim to replace Judith's legs. If we plan on saving her and your victim, I suggest you get your head out of your ass and work with us on this."

Nick growled and even though Jack was right, he hated the idea of having to work with the bunny. Judy needed him and this was the only way he'd be able to help her, he sighed and spit again to get the taste of blood off his tongue. "Fine." He said and was subsequently dropped to the ground by Anthony, letting him hit the floor with a soft pap. Nick proceeded to walk off through the crowd of staring Officers, heading towards the locker room to clean himself up.

By the time Nick had showered and changed into fresh clothes he found himself standing in front of the mirror. His left eye was swollen shut and had a purple tint to it that visibly showed under his fur. His lip was busted from where Anthony had slammed into him with his elbow, his upper left canine had been knocked out entirely. On top of all of this, he was fairly certain that at least one rib was cracked thanks to Jack's well aimed punches.

While he was examining himself, Sergeant Catano entered the locker room and locked the door behind her, prepared to talk.

"Nick." She spoke softly, making his body stiffen when she called him by his name instead of his rank or last name.

"You don't have to say it ma'am. I fucked up and I know I did."

"You're damn right you did. You assaulted a federal agent of the ZBI and you even pulled a gun on him." She replied though her tone was not harsh but instead showed how concerned she was. "Nick, you're lucky you aren't in a cell right now or worse. Hell, you could have been killed."

Nick's ears folded back as she spoke. She was right, he went in half-cocked and accused a federal agent of murder and kitnapping. To make things worse, got his ass handed to him.

"I hate having to do this to you, especially now, but you're being forced into a 'paid vacation' or so we call it. It means you're suspended from activities as an officer of the ZPD, you're free to see yourself out the door and relax until the case is over and your conduct has been investigated by internal affairs. You're unstable Wilde."

He whirled around and stared at the cheetah with wide eyes. He wanted to be angry but he could tell by the look on her face this wasn't exactly her choice.

"Ma'am, with all due respect, you can't do this!" he stammered out, clenching his paws into a tight fist, squeezing hard enough for his claws to draw blood from his palms.

"These aren't my orders, they're Bogo's. He wanted me to have you arrested but I called in every favor I could from him to stop that."

"Judy is out there in the hands of some fucking psychopath and you're asking me to sit on my paws?" He barked, making her cringe visibly.

"That's not what I said Nick. I said you were on a paid leave pending an internal affairs investigation." She said, her cheeky and mischievous smirk starting to show. "What you do with your time while you are on your leave is up to you as long as you don't do anything to get arrested." She finished with a wink.

"Thank you ma'am." He said, finally realizing how big of a favor she just pulled for him. "I owe you one."

She chuckled, a heavy sigh escaping her lips. "You owe me more than that Wilde." She quipped out before unlocking the locker room and heading out the door.

He reached into his pocket and pulled out his cellphone. After dialing in the number and the gruff voice other line answered he smirked. "Fin, baby, I need a ride."

"So where we headed?" The diminutive fox in the driver's seat asked as the old van sputtered and backfired.

"Let's start at the alley by my place." Nick said bluntly.

"Sorry about your girl man, that's rough shit."

Nick nodded, not responding.

"If ya want, I can put the word out, have some of my boys keep an eye out for her."

"Yeah, the more eyes out we can get, the better. They cool with working for the cops?"

"Nah, but they don't mind helping me out." Finnick said with a grin. "Plus, who said anything about cops? This is for you and me, for old time's sake."

Nick chuckled in response and braced himself as the well-worn brakes forced the van to a screeching stop.

They both stepped out into the alley, stopping by the fire escape. Immediately, Nick began to look over the area carefully.

"What're we looking for?"

"Anything that could point out where she might have been taken or who took her. They had to have come from this alley, this is the only way they could've gotten around the camera footage and made it out safely, the fire escape had been used and everything."

Finnick nodded and began looking along the back entrance to the alleyway. He was no detective but he had an eye and a nose for trouble and was a rather capable judge of a dangerous situation. He was kneeling down by a set of tire tracks when he noticed something. "Yo! These are off road tires!"

Nick's ears perked at the small fox's gravelly voice. "How do you know?"

"Remember when we did those jobs out in the meadowlands?"

Nick chuckled, "The ones where the gang of rams jumped us and left us naked in the middle of Sahara Square? How could I forget?"

Finnick shuddered at the memory. "Well, I had to put the same kind of tires on my van because of all the muddy roads out there. The knobby pattern gives it away." He said, gesturing towards the weird dotted pattern in the tire tracks.

"That actually narrows it down pretty well. Good job Fin!"

~'Stayin' Alive, Stayin' Alive, AH AH AH!'~

Nick's garish ringtone went off and he pulled it out. "This is Detective Wilde."

"Hello Detective, this is Doctor Rusa at Zootopia General, you asked me to call you if I noticed anything with your victim. Well, before she passed this morning, she had a visitor. He wasn't family but he said he was a friend. He never talked to her, he just sat there staring, it made me feel quite uncomfortable, and something was rather off about his demeanor."

"What makes you say that Doc?"

"Well, when Serena's brother got here he mumbled something about being a co-worker and he left in a hurry."

Nick reached into his shirt pocket to pull out his notebook. "Can you describe him?"

"Yeah, he was a little feline. A serval I think. Very skittish, never looked anyone in the eye."

Nick's eyes went wide. "Thank you, you've been a big help!" He said and pressed the end call button. "I knew it, that little bastard was the killer under our noses the whole time. We have to get to the Zootopia Journal pronto, hit the gas!"

"Wait here, we might have to move quickly and I need you to be my driver." Nick said.

Fin nodded and turned up his music as Nick approached the building. Once inside, he was greeted by the same ewe as before.

"Ah, Detective Wilde! What can I do for you today?" she asked with a smile.

"Is Les in?" He asked bluntly though he forced himself to return her smile.

"I'm afraid not, he called in and said he was on the trail of a big scoop. He won't be in today."

"I see, does he have an address by chance? It's real important that I speak with him."

She smiled. "Of course, give me just one moment."

Nick left the building running, practically diving into the passenger seat. He shoved the written address into Finnick's paws and frantically dialed his phone.

"Savage, no time to explain. Get a SWAT team to 8 Mountain Trail in the meadowlands. I found our killer. I'll meet you there, no time to talk about it."

Fin glanced to Nick over the rim of his sunglasses. "Wait, isn't that the old warehouse out there?"

"Yeah apparently Les bought it and renovated it to live there. He claimed he was working on an old airplane that belonged to his father. Dammit, I knew I didn't like this creep." Nick growled, slamming his fist against the panel on the door.

The van backfired as it squeaked to a stop on the road that led up to the old building. Fortunately the surrounding trees and hills masked their being there as well as the large SWAT and ZBI teams that had arrived in large black vans. Bogo himself was wearing a heavy set of steel ballistic armor plates.

"Wilde, what the hell are you doing here?" Bogo growled.

"What does it look like? I'm going in to save my girlfriend."

"You're supposed to be on leave." He muttered, he knew he should've arrested the little bastard himself.

"With all due respect sir, you'll have to shoot me because that's the only way to keep me from going in there. Besides, I don't see Wolford or Lobo here so you'll need a sniffer."

Bogo rolled his eyes, somehow sensing this was coming. He held out his hoof and Higgins handed him a small bullet proof vest and riot helmet. He held them out to Nick and gestured to the swat van. "Get yourself equipped and get ready. Wilde, don't think for a minute that you're off the hook."

"Yes sir." He replied and jumped up into the large van.

He emerged a few moments later wearing the jumpsuit they had brought for him and he had on his vest, helmet, and had his firearm slung over his shoulder. He joined up with the main SWAT force and found himself standing next to Jack.

He gave the rabbit a rather skeptical look which elicited a small chuckle. "Oh don't worry, I'm overseeing the operation from the command bus. Agent Ceptos will be running overwatch with the sniper team, so you don't have to worry about us getting in the way." He scratches under his chin and gives a mutual nod to Nick. "Try not to die fox."

Nick went to speak again but was cut off by Bogo's booming voice.

The chief was standing in front of a table with an aged blueprint of the building. "Alright everyone, we believe Detective Hopps is being held captive by a small predator within this building. So, this will be a standard smash and grab operation. We are going to run a breaching team on each of the three entrances here, here, and here." He said, gesturing towards the map. "Team one, led by McHorn, will breach the main warehouse door. Team two, led by myself, will breach the living quarters entrance. Team three, led by Higgins, will breach the maintenance entrance around the back. Once the breaching teams clear the entrance areas, the main SWAT and ZBI teams will go in behind and clear the rest of the building while the breaching teams guard the entrances. We have sharpshooters stationed on the hills under the supervision of Agent Ceptos as the clean-up crew, they'll provide overwatch and try to relay enemy positions through the windows if possible. Agent Savage, Agent Ceptos, and I are in charge of this operation. If either of the three of us give you an order I expect you to follow it. Any questions?"

There was a brief murmur through the crowd but nobody spoke up.

"Good, remember, there may be at least one other victim in the building but we do not know if there's more. Watch your corners and stay safe. Wilde, Del Gato, Agent Snarlof, and Wellington, you will be behind my breaching team on room clearance..." the buffalo said, assigning officers and agents alike to the different breaching teams but Nick wasn't paying attention, instead, his focus was on the building and how he had to find Judy. His focus was only broken when he heard Bogo give the final order. "Alright, you all have your assignments. MOVE OUT!"

Just like that, everyone broke into their teams and began the sprint towards the warehouse. Nick felt his heart pounding in his chest against the heavy armor, his breaths quickening as adrenaline started to take over. "Judy, I'm coming." He muttered under his breath, and joined the line of officers that stood behind Bogo. As a sniffer, he'd be the first in line after the breaching team which consisted of the chief and three officers. He'd lead the rest of his clearing team by finding either the target or anything unusual by scent.

Bogo pressed the button on the headset he wore and the radio in Nick's ear crackled to life. "On the count of three, all teams breach. One…"

As Bogo counted, a flat black square breaching charge was placed on the door.

"Two..."

The officer pushed the wire from his remote into the charge.

"Three! Breach! All teams breach!" Bogo yelled into the mic and within seconds, a loud: 'THOOM' echoed in the hills as the breaching team poured into the building, shouting orders to get down.

"Clearing teams, get in now!"

Nick led his team in, sweeping from room to room within the living area which was little more than the original administrative offices for the building that was roughly renovated to be a home. He growled when he found no sign of Judy or Les, but he could still smell them both, like they were here.

"Clear!" he barked into his microphone, his ears twitching at the resounding chorus of affirmations from the other officers.

"Wilde, she's not here." He heard Bogo's voice in his earpiece.

"Yeah, no sign of her in the warehouse." McHorn echoed.

"And she's not in the maintenance area." Added Higgins.

Nick ignored them all, however, and his nose twitched wildly as he struggled to pinpoint Judy's scent. "They're here. I know it."


	7. Chapter 7

"You mean it was you, the whole time?" Judy squeaked as she looked at the Serval. "Les, how could you do this? How could you kill those innocent mammals?"

"I did it all for you Judy." He said softly, a sad look in his eyes.

"But why?" She quips out, her voice filled with subtle tinges of hate, sadness, and fear.

"When I was a kitten, the tame collars were still mandatory. That's a curse that even your fox might remember." He sneered, hatred filling his gaze for a flash. "It turned my dad into a violent drunk that beat me and my poor mother. Hell, he was always so shit faced that he didn't even feel the shocks anymore as he took out his rage on us." He mutters, turning and unrolling a set of surgical tools on a table that was placed next to the gurney she was strapped to. "My dear mother eventually found the courage to call the police and my scumbag father was arrested and shortly after the tame collars were abolished so I got to grow up with the relief that I'd never have to wear one. But then the Nighthowler incident came around."

"B-but they never enacted the tame collars during the incident!" She exclaimed as she watched him nervously while he laid out the surgical tools.

"You were gone for 3 months Judy." He replied gently, his voice faltering in the slightest instance. "In that time there were twelve additional cases of predator savagery and the city council was ready to sign the bill; but you stopped it, you uncovered Bellwether's plot and saved us from that atrocity. Every predator in Zootopia owes you a debt whether they realize it or not."

"I was only doing my job Les." She replied, tugging against her restraints lightly.

"Be that as it may, I never thought I'd be able to repay you for saving me…until now."

"What do you mean?"

"I was heartbroken to hear you lost your legs but I realized there had to be something I could do. Something better than those ungodly prosthetics. Judy, each of those mammals I've killed had a purpose, they've let me find a way to give you your legs back!" He said as an excited smile appeared on his muzzle. "I've even found a donor for you! She's a perfect match!"

Her eyes went wide and she shook her head as she tried to pull from her restraints again. "Y-you're insane!" she yelps.

"I-I know it looks that way, but I can do it! Just try and sit still Judy, I still need to prep-" He was cut off by the dull thud of the breaching charges far in the distance. "We don't have much time…"

Nick's eyes were darting everywhere as his nose twitched rapidly, desperately gripping onto the faint scent of his beloved. At first his clearing team stuck with him in hopes of finding something but gradually they began to trickle out to the staging area until it was only Nick and Bogo left in the large building.

"Wilde, I don't think she's here anymore." The chief said with a gust of air escaping his lips, more of a wave of wind than what one would consider a sigh.

"I know she's here. The scent is too fresh and I can smell her fear." He said as he walked into the warehouse area.

Something was off and her scent was definitely stronger here than anywhere else. He noticed an old bi-plane sitting in one corner of the large building, definitely in some stage of restoration but what was odd was that a dim light was coming from the maintenance pit underneath the plane. Most would probably write it off as walkway lighting but Nick walked towards it and looked in, finding a small door with a light over it. The door was just barely big enough for a mammal Nick's size to fit through, he pulled it open slowly, pointing his weapon into the dim hallway.

"Sir, she's down there." He said plainly as he took off his helmet and magazine belt and dropped them on the ground next to his weapon.

"Wait for me to get back up here. I don't want you in there alone."

"Sir, frankly we don't have time to wait. If he is going to do what we think he is, the fact we just went in here with breaching charges means he's not going to be wasting time. Send them in behind me, tell whomever that I want him alive. He's going to rot away for what he's done." He said and pulled out his tranquilizer gun and started down the hall, leaving Bogo to snort in frustration.

The hallway was dark and damp, but he had the benefit of good night vision, a usual trait of the predator species. The tunnels themselves must have been used back during the alcohol prohibition given the age of the building. They had a few twists and turns before they ended up at another door, one where Nick could pick up Judy's scent muffled with scent of surgical cleanser. He slowly pushed it open, his one remaining weapon, his handgun held at the ready and he was greeted with two surgical gurneys, each one with a grey furred bunny strapped to it and between them stood Les, holding a syringe of a bright yellow liquid close to Judy's throat.

"Nick!" Judy yelped. She had a look of sheer terror in her eyes while the other bunny seemed too weak to have much of a reaction other than a look of surprise and relief at his presence.

Nick held up his tranquilizer gun and pointed it at the serval. "Les. Put it down. It's over."

The smile that Les gave him was nothing short of casual, the warm smile one might give to a friend one might not have seen for a long time. "Remember Blue Mist Detective? I found out that you can get its effects in other ways too. Like injecting it for instance." He said, pressing the syringe closer to her skin. "I know how your tranquilizers work detective, i'll have more than enough time before it kicks in to inject her with this, it's enough to keep a buffalo down for a week. I have no idea how this much would affect a small bunny like Judy here, but this is the only tranquilizer in my possesion strong enough to make sure she feels no pain. bunny. What'll it be Detective Wilde?"

"Shoot him Nick!" Judy yelped. "He's going to kill her!"

"Not another step Wilde. I'll do it!" Les snarled.

Nick's finger tightened on the grip of his tranquilizer gun. He knew Les was right, the darts, while being the latest technology and drug formulas, still took a minimum of 2 minutes to completely incapacitate the target, the first 2 minutes were just a progressive loss of motor skills and conciousness which was definitely enough time to inject Judy with the substance. He growled but still refused to lower his weapon.

"Les, listen to me. You're already in deep shit. Attempted murder of an officer won't do you any favors." Nick said.

"Yeah, well it'll keep you busy long enough for me to run."

Before Nick could respond, the door swung open behind him and Jack stood there, a tranquilizer gun of his own leveled at the serval.

"ZBI! Surrender now!" the bunny said and stared down the larger predator.

"Jack, that syringe is full of a psychotropic compound. We don't know what injecting it does and that's a dose supposedly big enough for a buffalo." Nick said plainly, not taking his eyes off of Les and Judy.

Jack's eyes went to the syringe and back to the serval. "We need to take him down!"

"Yeah bur unfortuanetly your Jackal friend isn't here. He'll have dumped the dose into her before we can get close."

"Well we can't just stand here!" Jack hissed and tightened his grip on the trigger."

"Jack, NO!" Nick yelled and reached for the gun but it was too late, the dart was flinging through the air and lodged itself in Les' Shoulder.

The serval gave them an evil grin and jabbed the syringe into Judy's neck, making her yelp as he pressed the plunger before collapsing to the floor. Nick ran over and scooped Judy in his arms who already had her eyes glazed over and drool trickling out of her mouth.

"Judy! JUDY! Carrots, Baby, please stay with me!" He whimpered. "Jack! Get the other Bunny!" he shouted and took off down the hallway, running as fast as his legs could carry him.

He ran past a confused looking Bogo who immediately followed after him. "Sir, we need to get her to the hospital, now!"

Bogo nodded and pulled out his radio. "Have my squad car ready, we have our VIP. She's critical, call the ER and tell them we're coming!"

When Bogo's squad car squealed to a stop in front of the hospital Judy had stopped breathing and Nick spent a portion of the drive doing CPR to keep her heart going. Fortunately, the trauma team was prepared and had a crash cart, trauma team, and a gurney ready for them and they immediately went to work the minute Nick laid her on the gurney. By the time they reached a room, they already had her intubated, an IV drip inserted into her arm, and probes on her chest and head that were hooked up to a computer to keep her vitals monitored.

Nick refused to leave her side, holding her paw in his for the past two hours as tears streamed down her face. He hardly noticed when Lulu entered the room, clutching a medicine pouch to her chest.

"Detective Wilde?" she asks in a gentle voice.

He turned and gave her a tired smile. "Oh, hello Miss Sikya'tavo. F-forgive me, I'm not exactly up for company."

She smiled gently. "I was called by Bogo, he told me that you saved Shophan. He also told me that Detective Hopps was hurt. If you'd let me, I'd like to pray over her and ask the spirits to aid in her healing."

Nick seemed to mull it over and nodded. "Y-yeah, I think she'd appreciate that." He said gently.

Lulu smiled and gracefully walked to the opposite side of the bed from Nick. "I made this medicine pouch for her. It'll aid in her spirit and help anchor her to this world." She said as she took the pouch and, very gently, she placed it against Judy's chest before placing one paw on Judy's forehead and other hovering over the pouch.

"Mother Elo-hi. Please watch over your daughter as she undertakes her journey back to us." Lulu began, eyes closed her head raised towards the sky. "Please call out to her, help her to find her way home and to ignore the call of death spirit." She finished, dipping a finger into a red powder that she held in a small pouch and drawing a small vertical line on Judy's forehead before she turned to Nick again. "She has a strong spirit. I have faith that she will return to us."

Nick was certainly awed. He was never a spiritual mammal, but the level of care that the shaman showed for someone who was essentially a stranger was certainly amazing to him.

"Thank you. That means a lot, thank you." He said softly.

Lulu smiled and stroked his paw. "You're a source of strength for each other, don't ever take that for granted. May Mother Elo-hi bless you both." She said giving a bow, quietly making her way out of the room and leaving the pair to rest.

Most of the night was uneventful, Judy's vitals remained stable though despite the fact that her brain activity was still off the charts. Doctor Rusa, who was assigned to Judy told him the brain activity was because she was under a powerful hallucination, not unlike a coma dream.

He spent a lot of time talking to her, telling her to follow his voice, hoping that she'd wake up. At first Doctor Rusa insisted that he'd try and get some sleep, even offering the hospital bed in the next room or even bringing in a cot, but he refused to sleep. He didn't care how tired he got, she needed him by her side and he would spend every waking moment of his being by Judy for as long as it took for her to wake up.

By the time morning had come, her brain activity seemed to settle some but she remained unconscious, which was worrisome to Doctor Rusa. To make matters worse, a meerkat and a warthog each dressed in black suits arrived at Judy's room.

"Detective Wilde?" The meerkat spoke

Nick looked up at them and his ears folded back, already having a good idea of why they were here. "Yes?"

"My name is Agent Timon; I'm an agent of the ZBI and this is Detective Pumbaa from the ZPD Internal Affairs Bureau, we'd like to ask you a few questions in regards to your altercation with Agent Savage and Agent Ceptos."

Nick sighed and nodded. "Okay. Go ahead."

"We'd feel better if you came with us and had your lawyer or union representative present." Detective Pumbaa said.

"Is this the formal inquiry or is this preliminary?"

"We're merely investigating at this point pending a formal hearing. We want to hear your version of the events."

"Then no need for my rep. I want this to be over and done with."

Timon sighed and nodded. "Very well." He said and set out a tape recorder and pressed the record button. "Detective Wilde, please recount the events that transpired between you and Agent Jack Savage before Agent Ceptos' intervention."

"The case that myself and Detective Hopps was assigned to was a stressful one and pushed everyone to the breaking point in the department. When I arrived home to find that she was kitnapped, I was sent over the edge, a combination of jealousy, worry and stress resulted in my arrival Agent Savage's office and subsequent assault, I had the gall to pull my firearm on him before I was dispatched by Agent Ceptos. I was emotionally compromised by the whole situation and was extremely out of line so I will take whatever punishment that is felt to be just."

"You don't wish to file any charges against either agent? You were injured far worse than either of the Agents." Pumbaa asked, his head tilting to the side quizically.

"No sir. For both Judy's and my sake, I just want this to be over and done with as soon as possible."

Timon clicked stop on the recorder. "Thank you for your time Detective. I'm frankly a little surprised by your candor given the seriousness of the charges but I can appreciate why. We'll be in touch."

Nick watched as they both left and returned his gaze to Judy. "Please Carrots. Come back to me." He whispered and rested his head on the bed next to her.

He was awoken in early evening by a sound coming from Judy, almost a gagging sound. He sat up and looked at her. She was still asleep but was visibly coughing around her breathing tube. In a panic, he mashed the nurse call button before he ran into the hallway.

Fortunately, a nurse and Doctor Rusa both were quick and were already jogging to the room.

"What's happening?" Nick asked, the worry very obvious in his voice.

"Don't worry Detective. She's finally breathing on her own and with any luck, she'll wake soon." Rusa said as she carefully pulled the tube free of her mouth.

He breathed a sigh of relief and sat next to her again, taking her small paw into his. "How soon do you think?"

Rusa set the tube on the surgical cart the nurse had wheeled in and picked up the chart from the foot of the bed to jot down her notes. "Hard to say really, could be a few hours, could be a few days but her breathing on her own already is a good sign. Don't worry Detective, we'll take good care of her."

He nodded and sighed only to smile when he felt a small squeeze from her paw.

He seemed to have nodded off again but was awoken by Judy stirring next to him. He sat up slowly placed a paw on her shoulder.

"Judy, sweetheart? Can you hear me?"

Her eyes clenched, then slowly but sure they cracked open and she let out a hoarse groan. "N-Nick?"

Tears welled in his eyes and he smiled. "Hey Carrots, welcome back to the land of the living."

She tried to sit up but he placed his paws on her shoulders to hold her down. "Not yet sweetie, you've been through a lot."

"What happened?" She asked, her voice little more than a dry whisper.

"Les injected you with a massive dose of blue mist. You've been in a coma for a couple of days."

Her eyes went wide. "L-Les! Did you get him?"

"Don't worry Carrots, he's behind bars without a functioning pair of arms. Agent Savage and Agent Ceptos agreed that a criminal of his precision shouldn't blessed with those tools. Word has it Agent Ceptos snapped them like twigs, you just relax and focus on getting better okay? He got what he deserved."

A few days after Judy had awoken, Nick was back at the ZPD, not in a full working capacity but as an advisor to the duo of agents as they wrapped up the final details of the case. They had gotten a full confession from Les after some questionable interrogation techniques administered by the agents. His sole reason for his actions was that he wanted to make Judy perfect again.

Once the case was closed and the justice system took over Nick stood in the auxiliary office at the ZPD, watching the two agents pack their things. Jack set a box down and walked over to Nick.

"I can see that you really do care for her Wilde. I know it doesn't mean much coming from me, but you have my blessing. Take care of her, because if you don't, you've seen what Ceptos and I are capable of."

Nick chuckled. "Don't worry. I won't make the mistake of being on your bad side again."

Jack smirked and picked up his box. "Good. Alright Anthony, we got to get back to headquarters."

The Jackal nodded, taking off his pair of black glasses and tossing them to the Fox. His red eyes were in full visible light now, and from his throat escaped a gruff, "Keep them, my personal gift from me to you as an apology for our altercation earlier."

Nick caught the glasses in his hand. They appeared to be crisply shined, almost gleaming in the light of the ZPD auxillary office. "Thanks buddy."

The agent merely threw a peace sign back at the fox and began to walk away with Agent Savage, their ride was almost here.

It's been a few weeks since the incident and Judy had finally been allowed to go home. She still suffered some side effects from the drug, some wooziness, lack of balance, some slowness to forming a thought, but otherwise seemed to be okay. Despite being confined to a wheelchair for awhile she insisted on being at the precinct when Nick went in for his meeting with Agent Timon and Detective Pumbaa. What was worrisome to her, though, was how long they were in there, the meeting already in its third hour. She occupied her time by gossiping with Clawhauser and catching up with some of the news about her colleagues. In fact she was in mid conversation with the portly cheetah about a juicy romance rumor between the chief and the lovely mare that was in charge of records when she spotted Nick coming down the stairs followed by the meerkat and warthog, a new pair of glasses she hadn't seen before clung to his face.

She waved farewell to Clawhauser and went over to him. While he had his signature smirk on, she could tell that meeting went about as well as he could have expected. She waited for him to shake his paw with the two officers and for them to leave before she spoke.

"How'd it go?"

"Well, I'm on a four week suspension and then on my return I am to be demoted back to being a beat officer. Apparently me being honest about the situation gave me some points and saved my job. I'll be eligible to reapply for my detective badge in two years."

"It could have been worse I guess." She said, pulling him down to hug her.

"True, very true." He said with a defeated chuckle. "I did pass by the sergeant on my way to the meeting. She says you're not to step foot in there until you're back to one hundred percent or your fired."

"After all this…I could actually use a break." She giggled.

Nick gasped and looked her in the eyes, pressing a paw to her forehead. "Who are you and what have you done with my Judith Laverne Hopps?!" he yelped and laughed.

She smiled and punched him in the arms. "Come on Slick, I'm hungry."

He smiled. "After the hospital food, I can't blame ya. I know a great place in Sahara square that we could get some grub at!" As Nick headed out of the ZBI lobby his new pair of shades gleamed in the light, faintly shining for a moment as he made his way down the street with his beloved bunny.

~End


End file.
